Using Your Speech Power! by Steven Ginley, Instructor Morton College Cicero, Illinois
Using Your Speech Power! Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Making Learning Easier by Improving Your Note-Taking Skills Pages 2-7
Chapter 2 Effective Speech Writing Pages 8-27
Chapter 3 Easy Speech Organization Through Outlining Pages 28-38
Chapter 4 Effective Speech Delivery Pages 39-50
Chapter 5 Supporting Your Speech with Evidence Pages 51-74
Chapter 6 Writing Speech Introductions and Conclusions that Work for You Pages 75-86
Chapter 7 Communicating Effectively Pages 87-94
Chapter 8 Perusing Persuasion Pages 95-104
Chapter 9 Communicating in a Group Discussion Pages 105-114
Index Page 115
Steven Ginley, 1982-2018 1 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Passing Thought If you want your dreams to come true, don’t sleep.
Yiddish proverb
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Making Learning Easier by Improving Your Note-Taking Skills
“Knowledge is not given as a gift, but through study.” Laura Cereta (1469-1499) From Epistolae
Chapter Goals
1. To learn the "T" Note-taking system which is a proven note-taking system 2. To learn to take well-organized notes 3. To develop organized study skills 4. To develop time management skills 5. To put Speech information into everyone's long term memory for later use 6. To improve test and quiz performance by remembering speech material better 7. To improve speech writing and presentation skills by remembering speaking techniques better
Terms to Know
T" Note-taking Highlighter Revisiting Long term memory Loose-leaf paper Synthesis
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Making Learning Easier by Improving Your Note-Taking Skills
Let’s start with a surprise quiz!! Fill in the blank preceding each question with the correct answer.
1. Who was the first President of the United States?
2. What ocean forms the Western border of the states of California, Oregon and Washington?
3. What is the capitol of the United States of America?
4. What does 4 + 4 = ?
5. Who is the current President of the United States?
Did you have any trouble with the surprise quiz? Did you feel unprepared? Did you wish you had more time to study? “No,” you say, “Those questions were easy. Everyone knows the answers to them.”
How would you like every quiz or test you take to be as easy as this one?
I can do it for you. You see, the reason those questions are easy is because the answers are in your long-term memory. I can ask you the same questions next month, next year or ten years from now and you would still know the answers. Getting important information into your long- term memory is the key to improving your learning ability, grades and retaining the information when you enter into your post-college career.
The Best Method of Note-Taking and Studying Known to Humankind
Most experts agree the best note-taking method is the Cornell, Recall or “T”-Note-taking system. It was devised at Cornell University. The “T” system has the following steps.
1. Get the right equipment. Buy a three-ring binder, a pen, a highlighter and loose-leaf paper. The three-ring binder and loose-leaf paper allow you to put handouts, class notes and reading notes in the same place. You can also add or remove pages as you revise your notes. The highlighter will emphasize important information limiting the material you’ll review. The pen will write without smudging.
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2. Write your notes in a well-organized manner. “T” note-taking divides notes into three information sections resembling a off-centered capital letter “T”. Draw a horizontal line across the paper about two inches down from the top of the paper. Draw another line about 1/3 of the way in from the left hand margin going from the horizontal line down to the bottom of the page. You’ve created the “T” format on your paper.
For example, your “T” notes for page 4 of this chapter should look like this: Speech 101—Introduction to Public Speaking Instructor: Steven Ginley September 5, 2010 Title: “Improving Your Note-taking Skills” Page 1 Assigned reading steps
1. Skim chapter Get general idea of what chapter is about
2. Read chapter summary & Learn what author thinks is important. end-of-chapter questions Shows what to highlight
3. Read chapter by sections Use bold-face headings as dividers Phrase headings are questions Can you answer?
4. Highlight ¼ to 1/3 of each page Limits material you’ll study Makes you think when reading
5. Write text notes by sections Put in 3-ring notebook with class notes on same subject 6. Repeat process for each section
The space above the top of the “T” organizes your notes. In the upper right-hand corner of each page write the course name, instructor’s name, date the notes were taken, the lecture’s title and the page number of the notes. The lecture’s title may be found in the textbook or the class syllabus. This allows you to quickly locate notes on any topic by looking at the upper right-hand corner of each page.
The space to the left of the “T” is used main ideas and important terms. Some people change main ideas into questions when they revise their notes to help study for the test.
The space to the right of the “T” is used for the descriptions, definitions, explanations and illustrations of each main idea. This column is larger because it will take more space to write a term’s definition.
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Read and Highlight All of the Assigned Reading 1. Skim over the chapter to get a general idea what it’s about. 2. Look at the Chapter Summary and end-of-the-chapter questions to learn what the author thinks is important. The material you’ll be highlighting is probably unfamiliar to you. Find out what the author thinks is important. Highlight that. 3. Read the chapter by sections. Chapters are usually divided into sections by bold-face lettering or headings. Imagine each chapter heading is written in question form. Can you answer the question? 4. After you’ve read each section go back and highlight between 1/4 and 1/3 of each paragraph. Highlighting limits the material you’ll have to study because you’ll only study the highlighted information. Think about what you’re reading before you highlight anything. Use the Chapter Summary and the end-of-the-chapter questions as a guide to help you decide what the most important information is. Only highlight important terms, concepts and their definitions. Don’t highlight too little or too much. If you highlight less than ¼ of what you’ve read you’ll be missing important information. If you highlight more than ⅓ of what you’ve read you won’t be limiting your review material enough. 5. Write notes from the text one section at a time using the “T” Note-Taking format. Changing your highlighting into “T” notes makes you actively review the important points again. Repeat this process for each section of your reading. Insert your reading notes in the three-ring folder with your class notes. Note-Taking Note: Note-taking from the text takes time, but it’s a valuable study aid. Highlighting forces you to think about what you’re reading and make decisions about what’s important. Repeating the process helps you remember. You’ll save test study time later.
Use the Following System for Taking Lecture Notes 1. Sit in the front of the classroom. This keeps you actively involved in the lecture, allows you to maintain eye contact with your instructor and limits distractions. 2. Listen for key words. Key words are often written on the blackboard to emphasize their importance. Examples of key words and phrases include: “Five reasons for…..”, “The main purpose is…..”, “It may be defined as…..”, “The first principle is…..”, “Causes are…”, “effects”, “types”, “steps”, “advantages”, “disadvantages”, “kinds”, “functions”, “uses”, “characteristics” “categories”, etc. 3. Listen for changes in your instructor’s voice. Important words are usually emphasized. Instructors may slow down their rate, pause or repeat important information. 4. Don’t try to write everything your instructor says. Your instructor can talk faster than you can write. If you try to write everything your instructor says, you’ll miss other important information. Write phrases or single words. Develop a consistent abbreviation system. If the instructor is lecturing from the book have the book open and highlight the information your instructor emphasized in a different color. Don’t worry about spelling. You can correct spelling errors and fill in more information later. Skip lines between new thoughts or definitions to eliminate confusion. Skipping lines makes it easy to see where one idea ended and a new idea began when you revisit your notes later.
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Revisiting Your Notes Will Put Them Into Your Long Term Memory
Note-Taking Note: Revisiting your notes is important. The average student forgets 3/4 of what s/he heard in a lecture prior to the next class period 2 days later.
1. Revisit your notes as soon as possible after taking them (within 24 hours or you’ll start to forget what your notes meant) and make revisions. Revisit your notes while they are still fresh in your mind. Correct misspellings. Write out all abbreviations. If you have questions about your notes, check the textbook, ask a fellow student or ask your instructor prior to class. 2. Develop a consistent system of note-taking and studying. Manage your time. Make time for studying or other daily pressures will crowd out your study time. Use the same abbreviations and symbols. Stick to a daily study schedule. 3. Take your notes out of your notebook and overlap them so only the main ideas column is visible. Quiz yourself. If you remember what the definition is put a check next to it. Now, overlap your notes so only the explanation column in the right side is visible. Quiz yourself again and repeat the same procedure. 4. Review all your notes prior to each class meeting. Don’t just review the notes from the last class. Review every note you’ve taken in the course before each class meeting on every class meeting day. Continual review puts the material into your long term memory and eliminates the need for cramming. 5. A week or two prior to the test write a synthesis of your lecture notes. Look over your notes. If you already know a piece of information it doesn’t need to be synthesized. Write any information you’re not sure about in your synthesis and study the synthesis. Typically, if you’ve reviewed as the term went on, your synthesis will fit on one sheet of paper.
Note-Taking Note: The more time you spend taking, rewriting and revisiting your notes on a regular basis the easier it will be to study for the test.
"T" note-taking is covered by the Midterm "You Ought to Know by Now" Review Questions #1-26 in the Using Your Speech Power! workbook.
Sources Kay Wason of the Special Needs Department of Joliet Junior College.
Katherine Gleiss-Monar, Academic Coordinator Student Support Services of Northeastern Illinois University.
McWhorter, Kathleen T. College Reading and Study Skills. 4th ed. (Glenview: Scott, Foresman and Company) 1989
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A Passing Thought Make yourself a craftsman in speech, for thereby you shall gain the upper hand.
Ancient Egyptian Tomb Inscription
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Chapter 2 Preview Page Effective Speech Writing “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug.” Mark Twain (1835-1910) American author and humorist Chapter Goals 1. To learn the basic reasons people communicate 2. To be able to understand and differentiate Persuasive, Informative and Entertainment Speeches. 3. To learn to choose a topic 4. To learn how and why a topic should be narrowed 5. To learn to write an effective speech Specific Purpose 6. To learn to write an effective Thesis Statement 7. To learn to use main points to organize a speech 8. To learn to use main point organizational patterns to make a speech easier for the audience to understand.
Terms to Know General Purpose Specific Purpose Problem/solution order Persuasive Thesis Statement Spatial order Informative Main points Comparative order Entertainment Organizational Pattern Causal order After-dinner speech Chronological order Relevant Reader's Guide Procedural order Distinctly different Narrowing a topic Topical order Fully support
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Effective Speech Writing
You shouldn’t start a long journey without a map, and just because you’ve been talking for years doesn’t mean you know how to write and deliver a well-organized speech to an audience. That’s the purpose of the next two chapters. They'll provide you with a step-by-step plan for writing the speech body. Follow these steps, and you’re guaranteed to end up with a well-organized speech.
The first two things to consider when you write any speech are:
1.) Why am I talking?,
and
2.) Who’s listening?
In other words, you need to analyze your audience and determine your reason for delivering the speech. We’ll discuss the role the audience plays later in class. For now, ask yourself the first question. Why am I talking? What’s my goal? What am I trying to accomplish by delivering my speech? The answers to those questions provide your General Purpose, and determining your General Purpose is the first step in writing your speech.
Determining Your General Purpose for Speaking
So, why are you talking? Simply stated, all human communication takes place for one of three reasons called General Purposes. Each General Purpose accomplishes a different speaking goal, determining both the type of material you’ll be using in your speech and how you’ll be using it. The General Purposes for speaking are:
Persuade
Inform
Entertain
The General Purposes are easy to remember because the first letters from each one make the acronym PIE.
Let’s discuss the General Purposes one at a time.
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Persuasion Regardless of the audience’s existing opinion of the topic, the goal of a persuasive speech is convincing audiences to change their opinions so they are more like the speaker’s opinions. Persuasive speakers change opinions by using arguments and subjective, biased facts from one side of the issue. They either present the PRO or the CON. A persuasive speech about nuclear energy, for example, would either relate all of the plusses or all of the minuses of using nuclear power. By only presenting the facts from one side of the issue, persuasive speakers hope to convince the audience members to adopt the opinion they're advocating.
Informative The goal of an informative speech is to educate. Informative speakers teach the audience by presenting objective, unbiased facts from both sides of the issue. The PRO and the CON are given. An informative speech about nuclear energy would discuss both the plusses and minuses of using nuclear energy. Unlike persuasive speakers, informative speakers have no interest in changing opinions. They want to teach the audience something new. For this reason it’s important for informative speakers to determine how much the audience already knows about the speech topic and use the audience’s existing knowledge as a connecting link to the new material being presented. A speech presenting material too far beyond the audience’s existing knowledge will be confusing, just as a speech that fails to present enough new material will be boring.
Entertainment The goal of an entertainment speech is to amuse the audience. The sole concern of entertainment speakers is making sure the audience has a good time listening to the speech. Entertainment speakers have no interest in changing opinion or educating. Entertainment speeches are sometimes called “after dinner” speeches because they’re often heard purely for enjoyment at banquets or club meetings.
One word of caution at this point. What I’ve just said doesn’t mean informative or persuasive speeches aren’t enjoyable to listen to or entertainment and persuasive speeches don't give out information. Persuasive speeches should be enjoyable to listen to, but the speaker’s primary goal is to change the audience’s opinion. Persuasive speeches also give out information, but only the information from one side of the issue with the hope it will convince the listeners to change their opinions. By the same token, an entertainment speech may give out information, but its primary goal is simply to be an enjoyable listening experience.
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Use your General Purpose to set topic guidelines.
You decide on your General Purpose immediately because the General Purpose determines the kind of material you’ll be using in your speech and how you’ll be using it. For a speech with a persuasive General Purpose, you’ll be using material from one side of the issue with the goal of convincing your audience to change their opinions. If the speech’s General Purpose is informative, you’ll be looking for facts from both sides of the issue to teach those facts to your audience. For a speech whose General Purpose is to entertain, your only concern will be making sure your audience has a good time listening to your speech.
Even if the topic area remains the same, changing your General Purpose will change the available narrowed topics. For example:
General Topic Area: Baseball
Persuasive General Purposes (in which you change opinion) Narrowed Persuasive Topics: To persuade the audience the Chicago Cubs will win the pennant To persuade the audience they should see a baseball game
Informative General Purposes (in which you educate) Narrowed Informative Topics: To inform the audience about the 1919 Black Sox Scandal To inform the audience how to properly bunt a baseball
Entertainment General Purposes (in which you amuse the audience) Narrowed Entertainment Topics: To entertain the audience by telling them anecdotes about the Yankee pitcher Lefty Gomez To entertain the audience by telling them how I caught a foul ball at the Cubs game
Once you’ve determined the type of speech you’re writing, the next step is to choose and narrow your speech topic.
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Choosing an Interesting Topic
If you’re able to choose your own topic make your topic choice quickly. Don’t waste time agonizing over your topic. Spend your time writing an effective speech.
How do you decide on a topic? First of all, consider your audience. You’re doing the speech for their benefit. What do they need to know about? What are their interests? If you’re in a public speaking class, most of your fellow students are about your age with approximately the same income and educational background. It’s likely you’ll share many of the same interests with them. If you’re different from your audience in terms of age, religion, ethnic background, etc., select one of your differences as a speech topic and tell your audience about something familiar to you but unfamiliar to them.
In any case, pick a topic you find interesting. Your natural enthusiasm for your topic will show through in your presentation. You’ll also have a more enjoyable time researching your topic since you’re interested in learning more about it.
If you’re having trouble thinking of a topic, glance through newspapers, magazines or a reference book like the Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature. Looking at the subject headings in the Reader’s Guide or similar reference book will also show you how much research material is available about your topic. Newspaper or magazine articles will supply your topic as well as the start on your research. Don’t, however, write a speech based solely on one article. You’ll need a broader base of support for your speech.
Narrow the scope of your topic to fit your speaking time. You won’t be able to discuss the life of Abraham Lincoln in 2-5 minutes so don’t try. Instead, deal with one specific aspect of his life. For example:
Broad topic area Narrowed topic area The life of Abraham Lincoln Lincoln’s assassination at Ford’s Theater Newspaper reaction to Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address
Narrowing your topic let's you do less research and makes your speech more interesting for the audience because it gives you time to present intriguing details about a smaller topic instead of quickly skimming the surface of a larger topic. Narrow the topic towards your audience’s needs and existing knowledge. Tell the audience something new about something they need to know.
Once you’ve decided upon a topic, you’ll begin to gather the material for your speech. I’d suggest you group your notes by sub-topics (related smaller segments of the larger topic area). This will make writing your speech outline easier. We’ll discuss research and evidence in detail later, so for now let’s move onto the next step in the speech writing process.
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Setting Your Speech’s Parameters With Your Specific Purpose
While the General Purpose expresses your speaking goal in broad terms, the Specific Purpose states the audience response you’re seeking as a result of the speech you’re delivering. Your Specific Purpose combines the speech's General Purpose and topic to create a statement summing up your speech's overall goal. It’s written to establish firm topic boundaries for organizational purposes. Only you know your Specific Purpose. It’s never read aloud to the audience. When you write your Specific Purpose be sure to keep the following ideas in mind:
A good Specific Purpose contains one major idea. A Specific Purpose contains one major idea because a well-organized speech only presents one major topic. The one major topic is developed and supported throughout the speech by many more specific ideas, but every idea in your speech must be pertinent to the one major idea expressed by your Specific Purpose. It’s impossible to write a well-organized speech developing two major ideas simultaneously because you can’t talk about two things at once. You can elaborate upon one idea or the other but not both ideas at the same time. A speech trying to develop two ideas presents a confusing aural picture to an audience because the speaker is “jumping” back and forth between two different topics, and a confused audience can’t be persuaded, informed, or entertained.
A good Specific Purpose is to the point. Be succinct. The Specific Purpose states the goal of your speech, and a succinct Specific Purpose narrows your topic area by placing limits upon the material that’s relevant for your speech. Any piece of information not directly relevant to the one major idea presented in your Specific Purpose is excluded from your speech. A vague Specific Purpose, on the other hand, may create a very broad and undefined topic area that can’t be adequately covered in your speech.
A good Specific Purpose is phrased in terms of the audience. This is a formalistic requirement. Since the Specific Purpose states the desired audience response, it’s phrased with the audience in mind. All Specific Purposes begin “to persuade, to inform, or to entertain (pick the one matching your General Purpose) the audience....”. All Specific Purposes conclude by stating your topic.
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Let’s create sample Specific Purposes for each of the General Purposes. All of these Specific Purposes begin by stating the General Purpose and end by stating the topic. Each of them contains one major idea, is to the point and is phrased in terms of the audience.
If the General Purpose is to persuade, the Specific Purpose might be:
1. to persuade the audience solar power represents the ultimate solution for our increasing energy needs
2. to persuade the audience private citizens should be prohibited from owning handguns
3. to persuade the audience the Earth has been visited by aliens
If the General Purpose is to inform, the Specific Purpose might be:
4. to inform the audience about Abraham Lincoln's assassination
5. to inform the audience how to shoot a basketball
6. to inform the audience about new health care legislation passed by Congress
If the General Purpose is to entertain, the Specific Purpose might be:
7. to entertain the audience by telling them about my weekend at the Oshkosh Air Show
8. to entertain the audience by reading unusual letters written to Santa Claus by five- year-old children
9. to entertain the audience by telling them how to pass a college speech class without even trying
Once you’ve determined the type of speech you’re delivering, you can begin writing the speech itself. All speeches have three parts: 1) the introduction; 2) the body; and 3) the conclusion. You always begin by writing the speech body. Once the speech body is completed you write an introduction and finally a conclusion.
The rest of this chapter discusses how to write the speech body. You begin by writing a Thesis Statement.
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Writing the Speech Body to Convey Your Message
Developing Your Thesis Statement
The Thesis Statement expresses the main idea of your speech, and is created by rephrasing the one major idea in the Specific Purpose as a single complete sentence stating the speech topic. Usually, the Thesis Statement is the first sentence in the body and follows immediately after the introduction. (The one exception to this rule is Problem/Solution order.) From an outlining point of view, the Thesis Statement is the most general statement made in the speech. The Thesis Statement expresses the speech topic in general terms. The remainder of the speech body elaborates upon the Thesis Statement by discussing more specific aspects of the topic.
Let’s turn the Specific Purposes in the preceding section into Thesis Statements. Each of the following Thesis Statements changes the one major idea of the Specific Purpose into a single complete sentence describing the speech topic.
Persuasive Thesis Statements are subjective. They present one side.
1. Solar energy is the best method for meeting our future energy needs. 2. Private citizens should be prohibited from owning handguns. 3. The Earth has been visited by aliens.
Informative Thesis Statements are objective. They don’t take sides.
4. Abraham Lincoln was assassinated at Ford's Theatre. 5. Shooting a basketball is a three-step process. 6. Congress has passed a series of new health care laws.
Entertainment Thesis Statements are only concerned with the audience having a good time.
7. I had the time of my life at the Oshkosh Air Show. 8. Children have very creative minds, especially when it comes to writing to Santa Claus at Christmas. 9. You can pass this speech class without lifting a finger.
Thesis Statements are always complete thoughts and are written as complete sentences. They should be concise, forceful and clear. Make certain the audience has no doubts about your speech topic.
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Using Main Points to Conveniently Organize Your Speech.
Listening to someone speak is different from getting information by reading. If you don’t understand what you’ve read, you can go back and re-read the confusing section. You don’t have that option when you’re listening to a public speaker.
You want your audience to understand your speech’s meaning the first time they hear it. This is where main points come into play. The main points are slightly more specific than the thesis statement, and are indicated by Roman numerals in the outline. The main points organize your speech. Each main point presents one broad, general aspect of the Thesis Statement. Each main point in a persuasive speech will be a major argument for why your listeners should change their opinions or a potential solution. Informative main points are broad sub-categories of the material you’re teaching the audience. In all speeches the main points carry the speech body's organizational pattern. Here are four rules to keep in mind when you’re writing main points to construct a well-organized speech.
1. Write Main Points using an established organizational pattern.
I’ll discuss seven different main point organizational patterns;
Chronological Order,
Procedural Order,
Topical Order,
Problem/Solution Order,
Spatial Order
Comparative Order,
and Causal Order.
These organizational patterns are tried and true ways of arranging main points to make your speech easier for the audience to understand.
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Chronological Order
It’s about time, literally. Chronological order organizes main points, 1.) according to time, 2.) from the first event to the last event, and 3.) usually uses events that happened in the past. Chronological order is used in the following main points to make complex subjects easier to understand by listing major events in the order they occurred as main points, or in the case of the second example, will occur.
Thesis Statement: There were many major battles fought in the Pacific Ocean during World War II.
(main point) I. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought the United States into the war.
(main point) II. The battle of Midway Island in 1942 began a change in fortune for the Japanese.
(main point) III. In October of 1944, the battle of Leyte Gulf ended the fighting effectiveness of the Japanese navy.
(main point) IV. The American capture of Iwo Jima signaled the beginning of the end for Japan in 1945. or
Thesis Statement: Here is the schedule for today’s seminar.
(main point) I. 8:00 AM Continental Breakfast
(main point) II. 8:45 AM Welcoming Address
(main point) III. 9:00 First Morning Lecture Session
(main point) IV. 10:30 Second Morning Lecture Session
(main point) V. 12 noon lunch
(main point) VI. 1:30 PM Group Sessions
There are many more examples of main points using chronological order. Months of the year, days of the week, etc. used as main points would all be examples of chronological order.
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Procedural Order
Like chronological order, procedural order is also a time pattern. Procedural order organizes events by time, from first event to last event, in a step-by-step format. Procedural order is useful for telling someone how to do something in the future, as in the cases of recipes, instructions, and demonstrations.
Thesis Statement: Changing a flat tire is easy when you know how.
(main point) I. First, loosen the lug nuts.
(main point) II. Second, jack up the car.
(main point) III. Third, replace the old tire.
(main point) IV. Fourth, lower the car off of the jack.
(main point) V. Fifth, tighten the lug nuts.
(main point) VI. Finally, you’re ready to go.
or
Thesis Statement: Here’s how to bake sugar cookies.
(main point) I. Gather your ingredients
(main point) II. Mix the cookie dough
(main point) III. Cut the cookies
(main point) IV. Bake the cookies (subpoint) A. At 350 degrees (subpoint) B. For 10 minutes
(main point) V. Allow the cookies to cool
No one could possibly bake cookies from the recipe I've just given. We're only looking at the speech's main points. Other important details will be added, as in the cases of subpoints "A" and "B" under main point IV later. The complete list of ingredients mentioned in main point I, for example, would be given in the sub, support and further support points under that main point.
Procedural order is an organizational pattern primarily designed for informative speeches teaching audiences how to do something. Procedural order explains the steps in the order the audience would do them.
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Topical Order
A speaker using topical order selects a key word or phrase in the Thesis Statement and divides that word or phrase into its components parts. Each main point is a more specific aspect of the topic area expressed in the Thesis Statement. In the first example of topical order the Chicago Bears football team (the key phrase listed in the Thesis Statement) will be divided into its component parts.
Thesis Statement: There have been many changes made in the Chicago Bears football team.
(main point) I. There have been changes in the offensive team.
(main point) II. There have been changes in the defensive team.
(main point) III. Changes have been made in the special teams.
(main point) IV. There were changes in the coaching staff.
Each of the preceding topical main points is a more specific component part of a football team. Combine offense, defense, special teams and a coaching staff and you have one football team. The next example of topical order is for a persuasive speech and makes a main point out of each reason "you should vacation in Acapulco."
Thesis Statement: You should vacation in Acapulco.
(main point) I. The climate is spectacular.
(main point) II. The hotels are reasonably-priced.
(main point) III. Many different types of food are available.
In a persuasive speech topical main points each give a reason the Thesis Statement is true or suggest a solution.
Problem/Solution Order
The version of problem/solution order we'll be using has three steps.
Step #1 Describe a problem currently existing
Step #2 Offer a solution for the problem (beginning with your Thesis Statement.)
Step #3 Defend your solution to show how the solution will eliminate the problem if it is used
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The defense step lists the advantages of adopting the solution and shows how the problems cited in the “description of the problem” step will be solved by your solution. Defense steps often use the words “advantages” or “benefits”.
Another difference between problem/solution order and the other six organizational patterns is that the Thesis Statement in problem/solution order follows the description of the problem step instead of following the introduction. The Thesis Statement begins the presentation of the solution step and should be a one sentence statement of the solution you’re proposing. The Specific Purpose for a speech using problem/solution order focuses on the solution as well. In the example below, main point I describes a problem. The Thesis Statement offers a solution in general terms. Main point II elaborates on the statement of the solution written in the Thesis Statement by offering more specific details, and main point III begins the defense of the solution.
(main point) I. The nursing home residents of our country are not being properly cared for. (presenting a problem)
Thesis Statement: We need more programs to ensure nursing home residents get the care they need. (presenting a solution)
(main point) II. The implementation of volunteer programs is a major step toward reform. (solution presented more specifically)
(main point) III. If more volunteer programs are started, nursing home residents would get the care they so desperately need. (defense of solution)
or
(main point) I. There is a serious traffic congestion problem on campus. (presenting a problem)
Thesis Statement: Action should be taken to eliminate traffic congestion. (presenting a solution)
(main point) II. A three-step approach would ease our traffic congestion. (solution presented more specifically) A. Build additional campus entrances (solution B. Stagger the starting times for classes presented more C. Increase the existing shuttle bus service. specifically)
(main point) III. The three-step approach would benefit everyone. (defense of solution)
A speech using problem/solution order would use subpoints, support points and further support points to thoroughly explain the problem and its solution.
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Spatial Order
Spatial order divides the Thesis Statement into geographical main points.
Thesis Statement: The current recession has affected the construction industry throughout the entire United States.
(main point) I. Construction has been affected in Northern states.
(main point) II. Construction has been affected in Southern states.
(main point) III. Construction has been affected in Eastern states.
(main point) IV. Construction has been affected in Western states.
or
Thesis Statement: Unemployment is a growing problem in Midwestern state capitals.
(main point) I. Unemployment is a serious problem in Springfield, Illinois.
(main point) II. Unemployment statistics are on the rise in Indianapolis, Indiana.
(main point) III. Unemployment has had serious consequences for Madison, Wisconsin.
(main point) IV. The unemployment rate has also risen in Des Moines, Iowa.
(main point) V. Unemployment is growing in Columbus, Ohio.
Spatial main points may be states, small towns, continents, oceans, etc., as long as they are geographical locations of the same level. It would be incorrect to combine different geographical elements (states with cities, big cities with small towns, etc.) for use as main points.
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Comparative Order
Comparative order is used in speeches comparing and contrasting people, places or things. There are two types of comparative order. The basis for both types of comparative order is the relationship between the major items being compared and the specific points of comparison being made.
The first type of comparative order creates main points out of the major subjects being compared and uses the specific points of comparison as subpoints.
Thesis Statement: Violent crime is a serious problem in both New York and Chicago.
(main point) I. New York (subject being compared)
(subpoint) A. Murders (point of comparison)
(subpoint) B. Assaults (point of comparison)
(subpoint) C. Armed robberies (point of comparison)
(subpoint) D. Rapes (point of comparison)
(main point) II. Chicago (subject being compared)
(subpoint) A. Murders (point of comparison)
(subpoint) B. Assaults (point of comparison)
(subpoint) C. Armed robberies (point of comparison)
(subpoint) D. Rapes (point of comparison)
The second type of comparative order reverses the main points and the subpoints. Now, the points of comparison are the main points and the major subjects being compared are repeated under each main point as subpoints.
(main point) I. Murders (point of comparison) (subpoint) A. New York (subject being compared) (subpoint) B. Chicago (subject being compared) (main point) II. Assaults (point of comparison) (subpoint) A. New York (subject being compared) (subpoint) B. Chicago (subject being compared) (main point) III. Armed robberies (point of comparison) (subpoint) A. New York (subject being compared) (subpoint) B. Chicago (subject being compared) (main point) IV. Rapes (point of comparison) (subpoint) A. New York (subject being compared) (subpoint) B. Chicago (subject being compared)
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or Comparative Order Type #1 Thesis Statement: The Chicago Cubs have a better baseball team than the Chicago White Sox. (main point) I. Chicago Cubs
(subpoint) A. Pitching
(subpoint) B. Hitting
(subpoint) C. Fielding
(subpoint) D. Coaching
(main point) II. Chicago White Sox
(subpoint) A. Pitching
(subpoint) B. Hitting
(subpoint) C. Fielding
(subpoint) D. Coaching
Comparative Order Type #2 (main point) I. Pitching (subpoint) A. Chicago Cubs (subpoint) B. Chicago White Sox (main point) II. Hitting (subpoint) A. Chicago Cubs (subpoint) B. Chicago White Sox (main point) III. Fielding (subpoint) A. Chicago Cubs (subpoint) B. Chicago White Sox (main point) IV. Coaching (subpoint) A. Chicago Cubs (subpoint) B. Chicago White Sox
It’s up to you to decide which of the two types of comparative order will make your speech easier for the audience to understand. Regardless of which type of comparative order you’re using, the subpoints are the same under each comparative main point. The first type of comparative order is the only instance a speech outline may be correctly written with less than three main points.
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Causal Order
Causal order organizes main points according to cause and effect relationships. There are two types of causal order. In the first type of causal order each main point is a different probable cause of a final effect expressed in the Thesis Statement. The Thesis Statement is either the current situation or a future prediction.
Thesis Statement: Many different factors led to the plane crash. (final effect)
(main point) I. Ice had built up on the wings of the aircraft. (cause)
(main point) II. Visibility was very poor at the time of the crash. (cause)
(main point) III. Pilot error was also to blame. (cause)
or,
Thesis Statement: The Chicago Bulls will be the NBA Champions. (predicted effect)
(main point) I. They play good defense. (cause)
(main point) II. They have a very strong offensive game. (cause)
(main point) III. They have an experienced coaching staff. (cause)
The second type of causal order speculates about future effects that might be caused by action taken in the present. In this type of causal order, each main point is a possible predicted effect. The Thesis Statement expresses the initial cause. This is similar to the defense step in problem/solution order.
Thesis Statement: Legalized river boat gambling will have a far-reaching impact on our community (initial cause)
(main point) I. More service jobs will be created. (predicted effect) (main point) II. Existing businesses in the river front area will show increased profits. (predicted effect)
(main point) III. Local tax revenues will increase dramatically. (predicted effect)
or,
Thesis Statement: Requiring school uniforms in high school level would have a positive impact on students. (cause) (main point) I. Students would be free to concentrate on their lessons instead of fashion shows. (predicted effect) (main point) II. Students would save the money normally spent on a more expensive school wardrobe. (predicted effect)
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(main point) III. Students would be safer since gang colors could no longer be worn to school. (predicted effect)
Those were the seven major patterns used for organizing main points in the speech body. It’s up to you to decide which organizational pattern will best serve your needs. All of these patterns work well for some speeches, but none of them work well for every speech. You should decide which organizational pattern you’re going to use after you’ve written your Specific Purpose and Thesis Statement. Consider your speech topic, select your organizational pattern and write main points fitting that pattern’s format. Don’t write your main points and try to figure out what you’ve done. Choose your organizational pattern and write main points fitting the pattern. Speeches that can’t be organized in problem/solution order, for example, will often work in a topical or causal pattern of organization. The reverse is also true.
Writing well-organized main points is critical because the main points provide the organizational skeleton for the entire speech. If you’re looking at a speech outline and want to see the organizational pattern being used, the only place you have to look is the main points.
Now let’s look at three other important factors to consider when formulating your main points.
2. Write main points that are relevant to the Thesis Statement.
Everything said in a main point should be directly related to the theme of your speech expressed in the Thesis Statement. Remember, your primary intent when speaking is achieving the audience response you wrote in your Specific Purpose. Since your Thesis Statement is derived from the one major idea in the Specific Purpose, anything irrelevant to the Thesis Statement is also irrelevant to the Specific Purpose. Irrelevant main points will confuse t audience and hinder your accomplishing your Specific Purpose
3. Write main points dealing with distinctly different aspects of the Thesis Statement.
No two main points should cover the same material. Discuss each issue thoroughly, but only once. This makes your speech easier for your audience to understand.
4. Write a group of main points fully supporting every aspect of the Thesis Statement.
Taken as a group, your main points should elaborate upon every aspect of your Thesis Statement. The main points in a persuasive speech should contain every major argument. In an informative speech the main points should contain all of the broad sub-topics of the knowledge you’re teaching the audience. When this is the case, you’re done writing main points because you have all the main points you need.
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Here are some main points from an informative speech about Sophocles, the Greek playwright. Each main point deals with one slightly more specific aspect of Sophocles’ life, which is the general topic cited in the Thesis Statement. Secondly, the main points are arranged according to an established organizational pattern. Thirdly, each main point is relevant to the Thesis Statement. Finally, each main point deals with a distinctly different aspect of his life and, taken as a group, the main points have covered all of the major areas of Sophocles’ life. Specific Purpose: To inform the audience about Sophocles' life
Thesis Statement: Sophocles’ life spanned the golden age of Athens, the 5th Century BC. (main point) I. Not much is known about Sophocles’ early years with his parents. (main point) II. Sophocles’ boyhood years were spent in the style of a young aristocrat. (main point) III. Sophocles was also a very active public figure. (main point) IV. Primarily, though, Sophocles is remembered for his theatre work. (main point) V. Sophocles died shortly before the end of the Peloponnesian War.
Chapter Review Follow the steps for writing the speech body in the order they’ve been given in this chapter. First, decide on your General Purpose because your General Purpose determines the type of material you’ll be using in your speech. In persuasive speeches, your goal will be to convince the audience to change their opinions by presenting arguments and facts from one side of the issue. In an informative speech, you’ll be teaching the audience something new by using objective facts from both sides of the issue; and in an entertainment speech, you’ll be making sure the audience has a good time. Once you have decided on your General Purpose, quickly select a topic that’s interesting to you. Then, write a Specific Purpose describing the audience response you hope to achieve when your speech is done. Your Specific Purpose should have only one idea, be to the point and be worded in terms of the audience. Once you’ve written your Specific Purpose you can write your Thesis Statement. The Thesis Statement expresses the theme of your speech in one complete sentence. Except for the case of Problem/Solution order, the Thesis Statement is usually the first sentence in the body of the speech. Each organizational pattern takes a different approach to creating main points. Decide which organizational pattern will be the most effective for arranging your Main Points and begin to write an outline using the format of the pattern you’ve selected. Outlining is covered in the next chapter.
Effective Speech Writing is covered by the Midterm "You Ought to Know by Now" Review Questions #27-98 in the Using Your Speech Power! workbook.
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A Passing Thought
Speaking without thinking
is shooting without aiming.
Spanish Proverb
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Chapter 3 Preview Page
Easy Speech Organization Through Outlining
“If you can’t express your thoughts there’s very little point in thinking.”
Pericles (c. 495-429 BC) paraphrased
Chapter Goals
1. To learn outlining as an organizational tool 2. To learn the names and functions of different outline points 3. To be able to group related material into outline form 4. To be able to construct a speech outline 5. To understand outlines add information by getting more specific 6. To understand an outline must only have one idea per point 7. To understand an outline may never have only one sub, support or further support point 8. To understand all sub, support and further support points under a main point must be relevant to that main point 9. To understand how outlines are indented and capitalized
Terms to Know
Thesis Statement Subpoint Further support point
Main point Support point
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Creating a Well-Organized Speech Body by Outlining
Once you’ve written your Thesis Statement and decided on your main point organizational pattern you begin writing the remainder of the speech body in outline form. Most speech teachers suggest using an outline because once you learn to outline correctly you’ll automatically end up with a well-organized speech. Your outline organizes the speech for you.
The mere mention of the word “outline” conjures up images of fear, drudgery and extra work for many people, but it doesn’t need to be that way. The primary purpose of the outline is to make organizing a speech easier. Don’t write the speech in paragraph form and try jamming that into an outline. Write the speech in outline form, and let the outline do your organizational work.
Here’s everything you’ll ever need to know about outlining boiled down into four simple rules. If you remember the four outlining rules, you’ll write a well-organized speech. I guarantee it!
The Only Four Rules of Outlining You’ll Ever Need to Know 1. An outline begins with one general idea (your Thesis Statement) and is developed by adding more specific pieces of information. The following list shows the designation of each type of outline point. Thesis Statement (Thesis:) ...... most general Main Points (I, II, III, IV, . . . ) ...... more specific Subpoints (A, B, C, D, . . . ) ...... even more specific Support Points (1, 2, 3, 4, . . . ) ...... still more specific Further Support Points (a, b, c, d,. . .) ...... still more specific
Should your outline need more specific points, the next type of outline point is designated by numbers in parenthesis [(1), (2), (3),...], which, in turn, is followed by small letters in parenthesis [(a), (b), (c),...]. From then on you alternate numbers in parenthesis with small letters in parenthesis until you’ve gotten as specific as you need to be. You always indent each more specific type of outline point to the right of the more general point preceding it.
You determine what type of outline point to use for a piece of information by judging how specific that piece of information is.
For example, your personal opinions in a persuasive speech are generalized ideas. They’re expressed in the Thesis Statement, main points or subpoints. On the other hand, evidence such as a statistic or a quotation is very specific. Each statistic, quotation, etc., is one small bit of information. For this reason, evidence appears in the more specific outline points such as support, further support, and sometimes subpoints.
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Turning your speech notes into an outline is a 3-step process.
First, group related ideas together. Each group of ideas should be relevant to one more specific aspect of the Thesis Statement. It’s likely these ideas will be part of the same main point.
Second, look at each group of ideas individually. Is there a more generalized idea that can serve as an umbrella to encompass the other ideas in the group? If so, you’re set. The more general idea will become your main point. The remaining ideas will be subpoints, support points, etc., of the main point you’ve just written. If you don’t see an all- encompassing idea, create one. Be sure the other ideas in the group are all more specific aspects of your newly-written most general idea.
Third, look at the remaining ideas in each group. Are some of the ideas more general than others? The more general ideas will become more general outline points, the more specific ideas will become more specific outline points. If there are equally general ideas they’ll be the same type of outline point.
Let’s explain this in more detail. Assume you’re doing a speech with the Thesis Statement, “William Shakespeare wrote many different types of plays.” You’ve done your research and organized your notes by grouping related ideas together. One section of your notes looks like this:
1. Titus Andronicus
2. Titus Andronicus is his earliest Roman tragedy.
3. Julius Caesar
4. Antony and Cleopatra
5. Antony and Cleopatra was the sequel to Julius Caesar
6. Coriolanus
7. Coriolanus is a proud man.
8. Coriolanus ultimately betrays Rome
9. Titus Andronicus was known for graphic violence.
10. Antony and Cleopatra tells the story of the rise of Augustus.
11. Shakespeare wrote four tragedies set in ancient Rome.
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You’ve collected 11 different yet related pieces of information. The first step in putting these ideas into outline form is to decide if one of them is more general than the rest. In this case item #11 is more general. The other pieces of information are all more specific aspects of the idea expressed in item #11; “Shakespeare wrote four tragedies set in ancient Rome”. So, item #11 will be your main point.
I. Shakespeare wrote four tragedies set in ancient Rome.
Now, look for pieces of information just slightly more specific than the main point you’ve chosen. You should be able to identify four equally specific ideas; the titles of the four plays Shakespeare wrote set in Rome, items #1.)Titus Andronicus, #3.)Julius Ceaser, #4.)Antony and Cleopatra and #6.)Coriolanus. They’ll become subpoints: A,B,C, and D. They can be listed in any order.
I. Shakespeare wrote four tragedies set in ancient Rome. A. Titus Andronicus B. Julius Caesar C. Antony and Cleopatra D. Coriolanus
We have six pieces of information remaining. “Titus Andronicus is his earliest Roman Tragedy” and “Titus Andronicus is known for graphic violence” are both more specific aspects of subpoint A. When compared to each other they are equally specific. Therefore, they will be support points 1 and 2 under subpoint A. A similar situation exists between “Coriolanus is a proud man” and “Coriolanus ultimately betrays Rome”. The only difference is they’re more specific aspects of subpoint D and will become support points 1 and 2 under subpoint D. It’s the same with the two remaining pieces of information referring to Antony and Cleopatra. You’re done. This section would be outlined in the following manner. I. Shakespeare wrote four tragedies set in ancient Rome. A. Titus Andronicus 1. His earliest Roman tragedy 2. Which is known for graphic violence. B. Julius Caesar C. Antony and Cleopatra 1. The sequel to Julius Caesar 2. Which tells the story of the rise to power of Augustus. D. Coriolanus 1. A proud man 2. Who ultimately betrays Rome.
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Want to try that again? Let’s assume this is another portion of your notes for the same speech.
1. Richard III
2. Henry IV, Part 1
3. Henry IV, Part 2
4. As portrayed by Shakespeare Richard III is a hunchbacked villain.
5. Richard says, “A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse.”
6. At the end of Henry IV, Part 2 Prince Hal becomes king.
7. Shakespeare promises Falstaff will return in another play during the epilogue of Henry IV, Part 2.
You’d follow the same procedure to put these ideas into outline form. First, is one of the points more general than the others? In this case the answer is “no.” The three play titles are all equally general, and they are the most general statements. However, you don’t want to get too specific too quickly. Since Shakespeare wrote 38 plays you’d be left with 38 main points arranged in no logical order. In this case, you’d invent a main point encompassing the remainder of the points. If you’re familiar with Shakespeare’s works you know we could create a main point such as;
II. Shakespeare wrote a series of plays dealing with English history.
The remaining steps are the same as before. You’d use the slightly more specific items, the three play titles, as subpoints and then look for statements that applied more specifically to those subpoints. Your outline would look like this.
II. Shakespeare wrote a series of plays dealing with English history.
A. Richard III
1. Is portrayed by Shakespeare as a hunchbacked villain. 2. It is Richard who says, “A horse, a horse. My kingdom for a horse.”
B. Henry IV, Part I
C. Henry IV, Part 2
1. At the end of Henry IV, Part 2 Prince Hal becomes king. 2. Shakespeare promises Falstaff will return in another play during the epilogue of Henry IV, Part 2.
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2. You only express one idea per point in an outline. Expressing only one idea per point in an outline creates a logical progression of thought within the main point itself by allowing you to add more specific information about separate issues. For example, a single outline point can’t analyze the changes in both the Chicago Bear’s offense and defense because those are two different ideas, and you can’t talk about two things at once. You’d need two outline points. One outline point would discuss “Changes in the Chicago Bear’s offense”, and the second would detail the “Changes in the Chicago Bear’s defense”. After you’ve written your outline make sure you don’t have more than one idea per point. If you see the words “and” or "or" or several commas in the middle of an outline point, it may indicate you have a point with more than one idea. You’d need to separate them for organizational purposes.
3. You can never have only one subpoint, support point or further support point. You’ll have one Thesis Statement. The number of main points will depend on the length of your speech, although most speeches have three to five main points. I believe if you deem an issue important enough to raise at the main point level it should be supported by at least two subpoints. Beyond that, you may have no support points or further support points if you feel you have fully developed your ideas without them, or you may have two or more support or further support points if you want to further elaborate your ideas; but you may never have only one subpoint, support point or further support point in an outline. If you do have only one subpoint, etc., you’re doing one of two things wrong; 1) You’re claiming something you can’t prove, or 2) You’re repeating yourself. This is always the case. The solution is either to think of a second point or to combine the lone point with whatever point immediately precedes it. This always solves the problem. When you’ve finished your outline, look it over to make sure you have a “B” to go with every “A”, at least a “2” to go with every “1”, etc.
4. All subpoints, support points and further support points under a main point must be relevant to that main point. Once you say you’re going to discuss “Changes in the Chicago Bear’s offense” in a main point, all you discuss under that main point is changes made in the offense, nothing else. After you say everything you want to say about the offensive changes, you create another main point and discuss another issue. The same rule applies for all support points following a given subpoint and all further support points following a given support point. This establishes an easy-to- follow, logical method for presenting your speech.
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Keeping the four rules of outlining in mind, let’s expand one of the main points printed in the last chapter from the speech about Sophocles. Notice that: • Each subpoint deals with a more specific element of the main point it supports. In this example each subpoint gives more specific information about Sophocles’ work in the theatre. • Each support point elaborates upon whatever aspect of Sophocles’ theatrical work is brought up in the subpoint preceding it. The same is true in the relationship of the further support points and the support points preceding them. • Each point contains one idea. • Every subpoint, support point and further support point is relevant to the main point. • The first word in every new outline point is always capitalized. • Each more specific type of outline point is indented further to the right than the outline point preceding it.
This is how an outline section would appear.
Thesis Statement: Sophocles’ life spanned the golden age of Athens, the 5th Century B.C. (main point) IV. Primarily, though, Sophocles is remembered for his theatre work. (subpoint) A. Sophocles competed in the tragic playwriting competition at the City of Dionysus Festival held in Athens every March. (support point) 1. As a competitor, Sophocles (further support pt.) a. Wrote a trilogy of tragedies, (further support pt.) b. And one satyr play that served as a comic after- piece. (1.) Satyr plays were named for the half-goat-half- man creatures of mythology. (2.) And satirized the tragedies preceding them. (support point) 2. Each competitor received a full day to present his plays. (support point) 3. Sophocles entered his first contest in 468, BC (further support pt.) a. He captured the first prize. (further support pt. b. Defeating Aeschylus, who was the leading dramatist. (support point) 4. Ultimately, Sophocles wrote 123 plays
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a. He won 24 first prizes, (1.) And since each entry was composed of four plays (2.) This means 96 of his plays were first prize winners. b. Sadly, most of Sophocles plays have been lost. (1.) Of the 123 plays he wrote, 111 titles are known, (2.) But only 7 tragedies (3.) And fragments of one satyr play survive. 5. Sophocles’ more famous plays include, a. Ajax (1.) Sophocles’ earliest surviving work (2.) Telling the story of a Trojan War hero. b. Oedipus the King (1.) Is considered to be Sophocles’ masterpiece. (2.) Aristotle used the play in his Poetics as an example of the best in playwriting. (3.) Ironically, Oedipus the King finished in second place the year it competed. c. And Oedipus at Colonus, (1.) His final play, (2.) Written when he was nearly ninety (3.) And produced posthumously. B. Sophocles was also responsible for several theatrical innovations. 1. According to Aristotle, he invented scene painting. 2. He increased size of the chorus from 12 to 15, 3. And, most importantly, he added the third actor to a scene. C. Unlike his playwriting predecessors, Sophocles did not act in his plays.
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The next two pages contain sample full sentence and single word outlines for the same speech. You may use either format, or anything in between, when you write your first speech outline. Find a word level with which your comfortable. Sample Full Sentence Outline Specific Purpose: to inform the audience how to begin writing a speech Thesis Statement: Here are the steps to follow when you begin writing a speech. Organizational Pattern: Procedural Approximate Speech Delivery Time: 1:10
Thesis Statement: Here are the steps to follow when you begin writing a speech. I. First, determine your General Purpose. A. Persuasive speeches 1. Use subjective facts and 2. Convince audiences to change their opinions. B. Informative speeches 1. Educate the audience 2. By using objective facts. C. And entertainment speeches, 1. Which are also called after-dinner speeches, 2. Amuse the audience. II. Second, you should choose your topic. A. Always choose a topic you find interesting, B. And choose your topic quickly. C. If you have trouble choosing a topic, you should look 1. In a reference book like the Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature a. Which not only lists topic areas b. But also shows how much research material is available 2. Or recent publications a. Such as newspapers b. Or magazines. D. Lastly, you should narrow your topic. III. Now, you would write your Specific Purpose. A. Specific Purposes express the desired audience response. B. All Specific Purposes should 1. Have one major idea, 2 Be to the point 3. And be worded in terms of the audience. a. The Specific Purpose phrasing should begin by stating the General Purpose b. And end by stating the topic.
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Sample Single Word Outline Specific Purpose: To inform the audience how to begin writing a speech Thesis Statement: Here are the steps to follow when you begin writing a speech. Organizational Pattern: Procedural Approximate Speech Delivery Time: 1:10 Thesis Statement: Here are the steps to follow when you begin writing a speech. I. General Purpose A. Persuasive 1. Subjective 2. Opinions B. Informative 1. Educate 2. Objective C. Entertainment 1. After-dinner 2. Amuse II. Topic A. Interesting B. Quickly C. Trouble 1. Reader’s Guide a. Topics b. Materials 2. Publications a. Newspapers b. Magazines D. Narrow III. Specific Purpose A. Response B. Should 1. Major idea 2 To the point 3. Worded/audience a. Begin/General Purpose b. End/topic
Outlining is covered by the Midterm "You Ought to Know by Now" Review Questions #99-109 in the Using Your Speech Power! workbook.
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A Passing Thought The tongue is more to be feared than the sword.
Japanese Proverb
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Chapter 4 Preview Page
Effective Speech Delivery “Talking and eloquence are not the same; to speak, and to speak well, are two things.” Ben Jonson (1573-1637) British actor, playwright and poet
Chapter Goals
1. To learn the four basic delivery styles and their uses 2. To learn the four steps of extemporaneous delivery 3. To understand ethos and how ethos affects your speech delivery 4. To understand the difference between verbal and nonverbal communication 5. To understand effective bodily delivery techniques 6. To understand effective vocal delivery techniques 7. To understand the importance of practicing speeches 8. To understand techniques for controlling speech nervousness
Terms to Know
Extemporaneous Nonverbal Volume Impromptu delivery Gesture Pitch Manuscript delivery Eye contact Louder/longer Memorized delivery Rate Articulation Ethos Pause Inflection Verbal Verbalized pause
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Effective Speech Delivery Until now we’ve been dealing with the written word, but public speaking uses the spoken word as well. Your speech delivery is the second part of the package.
Four Methods For Delivering Speeches Each delivery method prepares and presents the speech text differently. The four styles of delivery are, impromptu, manuscript and memorized.
Extemporaneous Delivery Extemporaneous delivery is the delivery style we’re using for our major speeches and the most commonly taught. Extemporaneous delivery has four steps. 1. Gather your material 2. Write the speech body in outline form 3. Practice the speech aloud at home 4. Deliver the speech in a conversational manner Writing the speech in outline form ensures good organization. Practicing the speech aloud improves your delivery skills. Delivering your speech in a conversational manner creates the image of someone talking to the audience in a cordial way as opposed to “reading to them” in an artificial, unemotional way. It’s essential you practice the speech aloud several times to achieve a conversational style.
Impromptu Delivery Impromptu delivery is the “off the top of your head” style of delivery. It’s used whenever the speaker has little or no time to prepare a speech. Don’t be disturbed by the lack of preparation time. You frequently speak in an impromptu manner. Almost all casual conversation comes “off the top of your head”. The key to successful impromptu delivery is to follow the normal speech writing steps, only faster. Quickly develop a Specific Purpose, a Thesis Statement and an organizational pattern for your topic. Use your introduction to get attention and, if necessary, prepare the audience for the body of the speech. Begin the body with your Thesis Statement and develop some Main Points to support the Thesis. Add supporting points where necessary. Finally, use a good conclusion device. Summarize longer speeches.
Manuscript Delivery In manuscript delivery, the speech is written out word-for-word in paragraph form. Manuscript delivery is used when it’s important to maintain the exact wording of your presentation, as in the oral interpretation of poetry or prose. One of the drawbacks of manuscript delivery is the speaker may lose inflection and read the speech in an artificial, monotonous style, so you must practice to keep your manuscript delivery conversational.
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Memorized Delivery Memorized delivery is exactly what its name implies. The speaker memorizes the speech. Concentrate on remembering concepts as opposed to word for word memorization. Since there are no speech notes, memorized delivery improves eye contact and allows the speaker to move away from the lectern. Preparing for memorized delivery is more time consuming. You not only need to memorize your speech, you also need to practice delivering your speech in a conversational manner. Unpracticed memorized delivery may turn into rote repetition.
Building the Big “E”—Your Ethos and You Ethos is the speaker’s image, as it’s perceived by an audience. You want to present yourself as a trustworthy person who is knowledgeable about the topic and concerned about the audience because people won’t listen to someone they think is dishonest, ignorant or only concerned for him/herself. The easiest way to achieve this is to be honest, thoroughly research the topic so you will be knowledgeable and be legitimately concerned about your audience.
Before we discuss building good ethos, it’s important to mention human communication is made up of two parts: verbal messages and nonverbal messages.
Verbal communication is the literal meaning of any spoken word used. In a public speaking situation the verbal communication is your speech text. Nonverbal messages comprise every other hint a speaker sends about what s/he is communicating. Examples of nonverbal communication are hand gestures, posture, facial expressions and tone of voice, which is also called inflection.
Obviously, the verbal message in your speech is important, but the way you present the message is more important because people believe nonverbal communication more readily than verbal communication. Why? Because people sometimes tell lies, and other people know this. If you meet someone who is crying his/her eyes out (nonverbal message) but tells you “everything is fine” (verbal message), you believe the nonverbal message and continue asking what’s wrong. If a used car salesman tells you the car he is trying to sell you was “only driven on weekends by a little old lady from Pasadena” (verbal message) but can’t look you in the eye when he’s saying it (nonverbal message), once again you’ll believe the nonverbal message. These physical elements of nonverbal communication give the audience necessary clues they need to interpret what you’re saying. In fact, experts estimate up to 93% of your message’s meaning is carried by nonverbal hints.
In addition, your inflection adds meaning to your message. Did you know, for example, whenever you ask a question the pitch of your voice goes up on the last word? Try it. This doesn’t happen with a statement. People use your inflection to decipher your meaning. Do you sound happy, sad, angry, sarcastic? All of these are examples of inflection. The lack of inflection is called a monotone. Speakers with monotonous deliveries rarely vary their inflection and are very difficult to listen to or understand.
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The nonverbal elements we’re about to discuss are essential for developing a good ethos and making your message easier to understand. You must present consistent verbal and nonverbal messages when you’re delivering a speech. You do so by making your body posture, hand gestures, facial expressions and inflection match what you’re saying. The degree to which you master using verbal and nonverbal communication determines how good your ethos will be. Here are some nonverbal elements you can use to build a good ethos.
Consider your attire. Plan your clothing with your audience in mind. Some speaking situations will be more casual, while others are more formal. Dress at the same formality level as the audience, but dress towards the more formal side. It's better to be overdressed than underdressed when compared to the audience since as the speaker you’ll be the center of attention. If you're in doubt as to how formally the audience is dressed, ask whoever invited you. For speeches in a classroom setting, I’d say don’t over-dress, but do dress-up a little more than usual on the day you’re speaking.
Stand up straight. Present the image of someone who is confident and in control. Have a backbone. Don’t lean on the lectern or slouch. Those postures may be interpreted as your being overly casual or unconcerned about the speech topic. Leaning on the lectern makes it difficult to gesture since the speaker is using his/her arms for support.
Keep your feet still. If you need to walk to a visual aid or blackboard by all means do so, but be sure you know what you’re going to say or take your speech notes with you. Never pace back and forth. Always have a reason for walking and always walk to a destination. Stop and speak there for a while, and then walk to another destination. Avoid shuffling your feet or shifting your weight from foot to foot. People’s eyes are attracted to movement. You don’t want an audience watching your feet.
Gesture with your hands. Everyone gestures during normal conversation, and a gesturing speaker is more interesting for the audience to watch. Always keep at least one of your hands, palm turned downward, above the lectern in front of your sternum. This will allow you to gesture. Don’t put your hands in your pockets or hold your own hand in front of you or behind you. It’s impossible to gesture if you’re holding your own hand.
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Use facial expressions. People judge your feelings by your facial expressions, so use facial expressions to indicate your speech's mood. Smile if you’re happy; scowl if you’re angry, become wide-eyed if you’re surprised and make all the appropriate facial expressions in-between.
Look at the audience. Good eye contact actively involves an audience with your speech. Look at the audience frequently while delivering your speech. People look into each other’s eyes during the course of normal conversation, and someone who can’t look another person in the eye is perceived as being dishonest or meek. There is no such thing as too much eye contact. Minimally, you should have direct eye contact with your audience 50% of the time. The more eye contact you have the better. Spread your eye contact around. Maintain eye contact with the people sitting on both sides of the room as well as those sitting directly in front of you. If you’re in an intimate speaking situation, look directly in the eyes of individual audience members. Practice delivering your speech to familiarize yourself with the text or you won't be able to look up. Practice looking where your audience will be. Devote your energies to relating with your audience, not just reading off the page.
Match your rate to the mood of what you’re saying. Rate refers to how slowly or quickly you speak. Speak at the same rate you speak during normal conversation, and vary your rate to suit the mood of what you’re saying. If you’re getting angry or excited; talk faster. If you’re describing something in detail or making an important point, add emphasis by speaking more slowly. Most people tend to talk a little faster when they’re speaking in public, so keep that in mind; and be sure you speak slowly enough to be understood by your audience. Always slow down your rate on the final lines of your conclusion. This signals the audience you are preparing to stop and gives them a mental sense of completeness.
Use pauses to emphasize important ideas and allow the audience time to consider them. Pausing gives the audience time to think about what you’re saying. Pauses emphasize whatever precedes them so pause after each important idea. Don’t verbalize your pauses. Verbalized pauses are phrases like as “uh”, “um”, “o.k.” and “you know”. They’re unnecessary. Most verbalized pauses fill silences about half a second in duration and are damaging to a speaker’s ethos. You want to present the image of an intelligent person, and it’s impossible to sound intelligent and be saying “uh” at the same time. If you lose your place or forget your thought for a second, say nothing. No one in the audience will notice.
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Speak loudly enough to be heard by the audience. When you’re speaking in public, you’re speaking to a great many more people than in an average conversation. You need to speak loudly enough to be easily heard by your audience. Even if you have a microphone, you still need to speak loudly enough for the microphone to pick-up and amplify your voice. You should also adjust your volume depending on the mood you wish to convey. Speak louder or softer to add meaning to what you’re saying.
Vary the pitch of your voice. Pitch refers to the highness or lowness of the tone of your voice. People using only one pitch are speaking in a monotone. Extemporaneous delivery aims for a conversational delivery style. Listen to how people change pitch during normal conversation. Vary your pitch to express the emotions of what you’ve written.
Use louder/longer. The easiest way of acquiring conversational inflection is to identify the most important word or words in each sentence and then say those words louder or longer. There will always be at least one important word in each sentence, or you wouldn’t have written the sentence. Usually, there is more than one. You emphasize those words by raising your volume or vocally stretching them out.
Use good articulation. Be sure to enunciate clearly. Good articulation is important because it makes your speech easier to understand and helps you present the appearance of a well-educated speaker who’s in control of his or her delivery and message. This builds your ethos.
Don’t react to a mistake. You can polish your speech performance by practicing, but people sometimes make mistakes when they’re speaking. If you stumble over your words or say the wrong word, simply say the correct word and keep going. The audience often won’t notice the mistake because people frequently make mistakes during normal conversations. Don’t react to a mistake by making faces, mumbling “darn” or worse. This calls attention to the mistake, and that’s what you don’t want to do.
Everyone uses these delivery techniques in casual conversation. However, many inexperienced public speakers “pull back” and give less nonverbal hints when speaking to a group. Our goal is to put the normal nonverbal hints back into the message. Good speech delivery can only be achieved by practicing your speech. Practice as if you were giving a performance. Look where the audience will be, plan and use facial expressions and hand gestures. Be sure your inflection reflects the mood of what you’re saying. Make use of all the delivery elements. They’ll give you an effective speech delivery.
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I’m Going to Give My First Speech, and I Feel Nervous. What Can I Do About It?
It can’t be helped. Sooner or later when you’re giving a speech you have to stand up in front of an audience and talk to them. A lot of people worry about this, but I have good news for you! There are some things you can do about feeling nervous.
First of all, since public speaking is a new experience for you, it’s natural to be a little nervous. In fact, being a little nervous is probably a good thing because when you’re nervous your body produces adrenaline and that makes you more alert.
Don’t worry about looking nervous. You won’t. I promise. No one ever looks as nervous as they feel because American society teaches it’s not good to look nervous. For this reason, you’ve had several years of practicing looking calm when you felt nervous. By now, you’re pretty good at it.
Don’t make giving your first speech a bigger event than it is. If you think about it, several million people have given speeches before you, and all of them have lived to tell the tale. We haven’t lost one yet.
Remember, everyone is on your side. Almost everyone has a certain degree of nervousness when faced with giving a speech. Your audience empathizes with this experience and wants to see you do well. The most supportive audiences are in speech classes. Everybody in the class has either just given a speech or is about to give a speech, so they all want to see you do well. The school is paying your instructor to teach people how to speak in public, so you can be sure your instructor is on your side, too.
All right, but if I feel nervous what can I do about it? There are several things you can do about feeling nervous. A 1938 speech book I have has a section on what it calls “stage fright”. The entire section could be boiled down to one sentence, “If you feel nervous, you haven’t practiced enough!!!”. This is blunt, but true. The most important thing you can do to decrease your speech anxiety is to practice your speech. You wouldn’t consider playing a musical instrument in front of a group of people without practicing first. No one would ever try to put on a play without rehearsals. By the same token, everybody needs to practice delivering their speeches several times. Practicing will help you in many ways. Since you've practiced in advance, you’ll feel and look more confident, be more familiar with your material, and be free to look up at the audience for longer periods of time.
When you practice, do the right kind of practicing. Stand up, speak in a loud voice, use good eye contact, gesture with your hands, etc., just as you will do for your audience.
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Practice in front of people. For this you need to find someone who loves you because they have to listen. Get your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, or wife and deliver your speech to one of them. If you live in a dormitory, this is what roommates are for. If you are living at home, this is what Mom and Dad are for. Do your parents sometimes annoy you with questions like, “What are you doing in school?” The next time they ask, present your speech to them. One of two things will happen, both of which are good for you. Either they will enjoy listening to your speech and will feel closer to you because they love you very much, and you have just shared a part of your life with them; or they won’t enjoy listening to your speech and won’t bother you about what you’re doing in school until the end of the term. Either way you win, and you become a better speaker in the bargain.
Nervousness, Tension and Relaxation Now, a bit about what nervousness is. Take a moment to sit down and lift one leg up in the air straight in front of you so your toes are pointing at the ceiling. Move your foot so your toes are now pointing at the wall. Press your foot toward the wall as hard as you can, as if you were flooring the gas pedal of a car. You’ll notice this will hurt. Take the pressure off your foot, and put your leg back down. You’ve just felt the muscles in the top of your foot tense and relax. Relaxation feels better. The best part is tension and relaxation are exactly opposite states. It is physically impossible for you to feel nervous if your body is relaxed. One of the most practical suggestions I’ve ever heard for relaxing prior to a speech is to turn your head from side to side and look around the room. With every turn of your head, you’re alternately tensing and relaxing the muscles in your neck. Another idea that works along the same principle is to take a deep breath and quietly exhale it right before you begin your speech. Breathing in is tensing. Breathing out is relaxing. Your deep breath will get you through the first several seconds of the speech, and by that time you’ll be so busy giving the speech you won’t have the time to feel nervous.
There’s a theatre game that’s often played with students on the first day of a beginning acting class. It involves dividing the class and asking half of the students to stand in the front of the room and do nothing while the rest of the class watches. In a short while the students who are standing begin to look uncomfortable. Then, the instructor gives them a task requiring concentration, such as counting the ceiling tiles in the room. Once they begin counting the standing students visibly relax. Why? Because they are concentrating on their tasks and not on the people looking at them. You can do the same thing. Concentrate on your speech not on the audience. If you’re busy focusing on your speech, remembering to gesture and maintaining good eye contact, you won’t have the time to feel nervous.
These suggestions, along with the following suggestions in "Help Yourself" work. Give them a try, and be sure to practice your speech at home. Practicing is the most important thing you can do. It will not only help you feel better, it will make you a better speaker.
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Help Yourself!! Only YOU Can Improve YOUR Delivery!!
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN DO TO IMPROVE YOUR DELIVERY IS….practice in front of a live audience. Practice your speech as you‘ll deliver it during your performance. Practice at home. Practice with other speech students in an empty classroom prior to class. Get feedback from your practice audiences and, if their constructive criticisms seem valid, incorporate their suggestions during your future practice sessions and final performance. Practicing familiarizes you with your speech. This allows you to have more extensive eye contact. You’ll feel and look calm, comfortable and confident during your speech performance because you practiced.
Improving Your Eye Contact Practice for a live audience and make direct eye contact with them. If no people are available, practice for a pet. You can also make direct eye contact with pets.
Write yourself LARGE NOTES in the speech margin such as—“LOOK UP!!” Every time you see a “LOOK UP!!” note---LOOK UP!! Draw a pair of eyes or a pair of glasses. Draw the pupils of the eyes looking in the direction you want to look. This helps you spread eye contact throughout the room.
Pick one friendly-looking person in each section of the room, and look directly at them several times throughout your speech. By making eye contact with them you’ll also be making eye contact with the people sitting around them.
Memorize portions of your speech. Practice looking up during these segments.
Use a highlighter on your speech text. Look up when you see highlighting. The highlighter makes it easier to find your place when you look back at your notes.
While it’s much more effective to have direct eye contact with audience members, looking in- between audience members is better than no eye contact.
Slowing Down or Speeding Up Your Rate Write yourself LARGE NOTES in the speech margin such as—“SLOW DOWN” or “SPEED UP”.
Get yourself an in-audience “Coach.” Have a friend in the audience make subtle hand signals meaning “O.K.”, “speed up” or “slow down”.
Practice your speech for a live audience. Have them interrupt you if you begin to speak too slowly or too quickly.
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Making Appropriate Gestures Place your hands above the lectern toward the top of your chest in front of your sternum. Turn your palms down. Your hands will be in a natural gesturing position. At first this may feel awkward, but stick with it. Eventually, you’ll get comfortable. Tell someone what you’ll be talking about during your speech. Don’t deliver your speech. Just tell them about your topic. Hand gestures will often occur naturally during a casual conversation. Put these hand gestures into the appropriate portions of the speech. Practice your speech when you’re doing something unrelated, like washing dishes or combing your hair. Once again, hand gestures will frequently occur naturally. Your in-class “Coach” can also help you here. Have a friend subtly signal you if you aren’t doing enough hand gestures. Stand up straight. If you lean on the lectern you’ll need your hands to keep from falling over. Lift your hands high enough above the lectern so your gestures may be easily seen. Plan certain gestures when you practice your speech. Practice doing the same gestures at the same place every time.
Keep your hands out of your pockets. If you have to, wear clothing without pockets.
Speaking Louder Make sure you’re breathing properly. Put one hand over your stomach. Take a deep breath and exhale. If you’re breathing properly, your diaphragm, which is behind your stomach, should expand and contract with each breath. Your rib cage should not move! Practice projecting from your diaphragm. Practice in a setting that’s the same size as your performance space. In a school setting, practice your speech for some classmates in an empty classrooms prior to your in-class performance. Most classrooms have lecterns. Choose a speech topic you find interesting. If you’re doing a persuasive speech choose a topic you feel strongly about. Expressing strong beliefs may make your delivery louder. Have your practice audience sit farther away or cover their ears. Make sure you can still be heard.
Eliminating Verbalized Pauses To eliminate verbalized pauses you must be able to recognize your verbalized pause pattern. Practice your speech for someone and have them yell “uh” every time you say a verbalized pause. It will be annoying for you but eventually you’ll realize when you’re about to verbalize a pause and stop yourself. Write out transitions linking together the parts of your speech.
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Creating a Conversational Delivery Underline the most important word or words in each sentence. Emphasize these words by saying them louder or longer when your deliver your speech. Tell someone what your speech is about without using your speech notes. Pay attention to your voice’s naturally occurring inflection. Incorporate these inflections into your speech delivery. Pronounce “a” and “the” as people pronounce them in normal conversation. “A” and “the” should sound like “uh” and “thuh”. Use examples from your personal experience in the text of your speech. Your familiarity with the subject matter will make your delivery more conversational. Use appropriate facial expressions. People use non-verbal signals such as facial expressions to help them interpret what another person is saying. Plan appropriate pauses. People use silence in everyday conversation to emphasize what they’ve just said or what they’re going to say next. Practice with a tape recorder. Don’t be concerned if your voice sounds “funny.” Your voice will sound all right in class. Most tape recorders have inexpensive microphones and most people hold the microphone too close to their mouths. This creates vocal distortions. Hold the microphone six inches away from your mouth and deliver your speech. Listen for changes in inflection. Imagine you’re talking to an infant. Adults exaggerate their inflection when they speak to babies. This is how babies learn inflection. See what changes occur in your voice using “baby-talk” inflection. Tone-down the exaggerated aspect of the inflection for your final speech performance.
Controlling Nervousness Practice your speech several times for live audiences. Find a vacant classroom and practice your speech with fellow speech students prior to class. You’ll become more comfortable speaking to them, and you’ll feel more comfortable because you’ll be delivering your speech to familiar faces. Deliver your speech to one friendly face in each section of the room. Focus your attention on the main idea of your speech rather than on yourself. Concentrate on the delivery aspects of your speech. Subtly, take a deep breath, and exhale it right before you begin to speak. Remember, everyone in your audience wants to see you do well. No one wants you to feel nervous. They aren’t trying to make you feel nervous. They’re on your side. The only person who can make you nervous is you. This means you have the power to make yourself calm. After all, you made it this far.
Speech Delivery is covered by the Midterm "You Ought to Know by Now" Review Questions #110-132 in the Using Your Speech Power! workbook.
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A Passing Thought
Tell me and I’ll forget. Show me, and I may not remember. Involve me, and I’ll understand.
Native American Proverb
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Chapter 5 Preview Page
Supporting Your Speech With Evidence “A speech has two parts. Necessarily, you state your case and you prove it.” Aristotle (384-322 BC) Greek philosopher
Chapter Goals 1. To learn evidence's definition 2. To learn four basic evidence presentation methods 3. To learn seven speech evidence presentation types and the strengths and cautions of each type 4. To learn how to use multiple evidence types under a main point for maximum emotional and evidentiary effect 5. To be able to recognize the seven different evidence types 6. To learn evidence sources available in libraries 7. To learn endnote source citation 8. To learn how to use evidence to support outlines for each general purpose
Terms to Know Evidence Hypothetical Illus. Interview Illustrations Paraphrase On-line Statistics Literal Analogy Reader's Guide Testimony Figurative Analogy Telephone book Analogies Card Catalog Vertical File Factual Example Dictionary Endnote Expanded Factual Ex.
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Supporting Your Speech With Evidence
Aristotle was right! If you want your audience to believe it you’ll have to prove it!
Evidence is facts or expert opinions proving a generalization. The most general statement in a speech is the Thesis Statement. Outlines elaborate on the Thesis Statement by introducing more specific information in the form of evidence. Your speech's evidence supports the Thesis Statement and the main points. Informative speech evidence is the knowledge you’re teaching. Persuasive speech evidence is the one-sided facts proving the Thesis Statement (your generalization) is true.
Since evidence is very specific it appears in the more specific portions of the outline, such as the support points, further support points and sometimes the subpoints. Evidence may be a fact, a name, a comparison, a quotation, or a number.
There are seven ways of presenting evidence. They fit into one of four broad evidence categories. Each evidence presentation method has different strengths and weaknesses. Choose evidence types so the strengths of one type compensate for the weaknesses of another. You always support a main point with at least two evidence types. One of the two evidence types you use should be either expanded factual examples, testimony or figurative analogy because they have stronger emotional appeal.
Seven Evidence Presentation Methods Illustrations present evidence in story form. (There are 3 illustration types) Statistics present evidence in numerical form. Testimony presents evidence as expert opinion. Analogies present evidence by making comparisons. (There are 2 types of analogies)
Illustrations - Using Stories as Evidence Illustrations are divided into three sub-categories; factual examples, expanded factual examples, and hypothetical illustrations.
Factual Example Strength: The allow you to present a lot of evidence in a short time.
Caution: They have almost no emotional appeal.
A factual example is a true specific instance. However, factual examples are never used singly. They’re always presented in groups. The collective weight of a series of factual examples prove a point. Since factual examples present evidence without elaboration, they’re able to present a large amount of evidence in a short time period. They’re also the most commonly used evidence type in student speeches.
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Franklin D. Roosevelt used factual examples in the following excerpt from his Declaration of War Against Japan. By using factual examples, Roosevelt was able to present a great deal of evidence quickly. The collective weight of the factual examples proved Roosevelt’s generalization, the final statement in this section. Each factual example is an instance of Japanese aggression. Roosevelt emphasizes the scope of the attacks by repeating the same phrase at the beginning of several lines.
“The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian Islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. I regret to tell you that very many American lives have been lost. In addition, American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu. Yesterday the Japanese government also launched an attack against Malaya. Last night Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong. Last night Japanese forces attacked Guam. Last night Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands. Last night the Japanese attacked Midway Island. Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area.”
or,
Assume you’re doing a speech with the Thesis Statement, “Americans should have healthier diets.” One of your main points states, “Seafood is a good low-fat alternative to red meat.” You could partially support this main point with factual examples listing, without elaboration, low-fat seafood Americans should eat. I. Seafood is a good low-fat alternative to red meat. A. Shellfish cooked with moist heat such as 1. Lobster, 2. Shrimp, 3. Alaskan king crab 4. Clams B. Fin fish 1. Cooked in dry heat such as a. Cod, b. Flounder, c. Red fish, d. Snapper, e. Halibut 2. Drained tuna canned in water
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Expanded Factual Example Strength: They have excellent emotional appeal. Caution: They take a lot of time and present only one example.* *Note: The strengths and cautions for factual examples and expanded factual examples are exactly opposite. They work very well together.
An expanded factual example is an in-depth true story. An expanded factual example elaborates on a true instance until it becomes a complete story with a beginning, middle and end. As is the case with illustrations in introductions or conclusions, expanded factual examples appeal to the audience’s emotions by using vivid language to create a mood. The story’s truth heightens its impact.
Janet’s moment of truth came in her high school health class. During a quiz designed to show if you were in an abusive relationship, Janet answered "yes" to all three yes or no questions. She ran from the classroom crying. Janet’s abusive relationship began when she was fourteen. Her new boyfriend’s love quickly turned into a suffocating possessiveness. He wouldn’t let her see her friends. When they rode together in a car her seat was either on his lap or next to him. Once when he’d been drinking, he grabbed Janet by the arm hard enough to leave welts and told her if she didn’t spend more time with him he’d kill her. Janet joined a crisis center group, broke up with her boyfriend, but took him back again. “He’d be nice for a while, then go back to his old ways, then be sweet again. Between what the group was saying, what he was saying, and what my heart was saying, I was so confused.” Finally, with the help of a friend Janet made her break final. Janet’s not alone. A recent survey of teenagers showed over 1/3 of them had been involved with dating violence.
Hypothetical Illustration Strengths: You control the events and they allow speculation. Caution: They’re not true. They’re not facts. You’re only suggesting they might happen. If the audience doesn’t agree without your suggestion, a hypothetical illustration has no impact.
A hypothetical illustration is a fictitious story. They allow speculation about events that haven’t happened but could. To be effective, a hypothetical illustration must be capable of happening. Hypothetical illustrations are frequently used to predict advantages during problem/solution order defense steps. Hypothetical illustrations should only be used for predicting the future or setting up “perfect cases”. Never use a hypothetical illustration if you can find an expanded factual example. Expanded factual examples allow for a story format, bring extra emotional appeal and carry more weight because they're true.
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Since a hypothetical illustration is “the story that hasn’t happened yet”, begin your hypothetical illustration with a “key” word or words such as “suppose”, “imagine”, “if”, or “picture this” to let your audience know the story is fictitious.
The next two hypothetical illustrations predict future events if a certain plan is adopted in the present. This is how hypothetical illustrations are used during problem/solution defense steps. Problem/solution defense step hypothetical illustrations predict the future benefits of adopting the proposed solution.
According to OSHA, (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) if a complete ban on smoking in the workplace were put into effect today it would save the lives of between 103,000 to over 600,000 people who would have died from lung cancer or heart disease during the next 45 years.
or,
Suppose a stoplight was put up at State University’s West entrance. The long lines of cars waiting to make left turns at the East entrance would be eliminated since half of the traffic would use the West entrance stoplight. Parking on the East side of campus would be less congested since students using the West entrance would park in the West lot. Finally, if a new stoplight was put up at the West entrance football, soccer and baseball fans would have easier access to the athletic stadium.
The next example of a hypothetical illustration creates a perfect case and argues it could happen even though it hasn’t happened yet.
Imagine a terrorist carrying an explosive device in his suitcase. He wants to place it on a large commercial airliner flying out of O’Hare Airport, but security at the airport is too tight. Suppose the terrorist takes a commuter flight flying into O’Hare and has connecting tickets to a commercial flight. He can then get his baggage and send it aboard the major flight without passing through airport security.
If, in the previous example, airport security believed the hypothetical illustration was capable of happening, it would carry great weight. If not, it would prove nothing. As I said before, the audience must believe hypothetical illustrations are capable of happening for them to be effective.
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Statistics-Using Numbers as Evidence Strength: They present large amounts of information simply. Cautions: They frequently have very little emotional appeal and may be confusing.
Statistics are facts expressed numerically, and are gathered using surveys.
Before you use a statistic, make sure: The statistic's source is unbiased. Be certain the person responsible for your statistics has nothing to gain by the statistics coming out a certain way. Some good unbiased sources who collect statistics for the sake of information are CBS-New York Times, NBC-Washington Post, USA Today, Gallup Poll, magazines such as Time, Newsweek, and U.S. News and World Report.
The statistics are the most recent statistics. Evidence becomes outdated rapidly. Unless it’s the most recent statistic available, any statistic over three-years-old should only be used in comparison with more recent statistics.
The statistics are relevant. Your statistics must be pertinent to the Thesis Statement and the one major idea expressed in the Specific Purpose.
When you present statistics: Cite your source. Tell the audience who gathered the statistics and where you found them. A respected source heightens your ethos.
Simplify your statistics by rounding them off if possible. You should round-off a statistic if you can do so without changing its meaning. This makes the statistics easier to understand and remember. So, 47.38% of the voters becomes “just over 47% of the voters”, and a city with a population of 3,573,912 has “a little over 3 and 1/2 million people”.
Present your statistics carefully. Present your statistics slowly and logically. Don’t present too many statistics at once. A series of numbers can be confusing.
Interpret your statistics . Explain what your statistics mean. Testimony is useful for interpreting statistics. Quoted experts have often seen the statistics and are commenting about the current situation. Testimony also supplies the emotional appeal many statistics lack.
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Testimony - Using Expert Opinion as Evidence
Strengths: They have good emotional appeal and they allow you to “borrow” the expert’s ethos.
Caution: They’re only opinion. It’s important your source is a respected expert in the field in which you're quoting him/her.
Testimony presents expert opinion as evidence. For a persuasive speech use expert opinion to support your opinion. The source’s expertise heightens your ethos. Expert opinions in an informative speech help to educate your audience. Here are some testimonial do’s and don’ts.
DO make sure your source is an expert in the field. Movie stars, for example, often express opinions in areas where they have no greater expertise than you or I. If the audience doesn’t respect your source, the testimony carries no weight.
DO cite your source. Before you present a quotation, let the audience know who said it and where you found it. If the source is a famous person like Bill Clinton or Ralph Nader, the name is sufficient. If your source is an expert whose name is not well known, be sure to give your source’s credentials. In all cases, say where you found the quotation. Several standard phrases for introducing testimony easily accomplish this, such as “William Rhenquist, Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, in this year's July 23rd issue of Time Magazine said, ”.....”
DO indicate the beginning and the end of the quotation. The old way of doing this was to say “quote . . . unquote”. The newer, more popular method is to pause slightly at the beginning and again at the end of the quotation. You might want to change the pitch or rate of your voice slightly to further differentiate the quotation.
DO find a short quotation, or paraphrase. Shorter quotations are preferable since they make their points more quickly. Longer quotations should be paraphrased. Paraphrasing deletes irrelevant material and is acceptable if it doesn’t change the quotation’s meaning.
DON’T try to memorize the quotation. Write the quotation out word-for-word in sentence form. You’ll heighten your ethos when the audience sees you reading the quotation directly from your speech. This also eliminates the possibility of misquoting.
DON’T divide the quotation up in your outline. Regardless of length, a quotation is considered to be one idea and is given one outline point.
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Analogies - Using Comparisons as Evidence
The word “analogy” means comparison, and comparisons show similarities or dissimilarities. There are two types of analogies: literal and figurative. Analogies allow you to explain new concepts to uninformed audiences by comparing the new concept to something the audience already knows about.
Literal Analogy Strength: They allow you to argue by showing similarities or dissimilarities of items in the same class. They work well with uninformed audiences because they allow you to compare something the audience is unfamiliar with to something they know well. Cautions: They have very little emotional appeal and you must be sure you are comparing things from the same classification.
Literal analogies compare two or more items from the same classification. A literal analogy may compare two large cities, two community colleges, two compact cars, etc., because the items being compared are in the same class. Since items in the same class have similar characteristics, it may be argued by analogy a new program causing violent crime to drop in New York City (a big city) will also cause a drop in violent crime in Chicago (another big city). Television commercials frequently use literal analogies to show dissimilarities between two competing products. A 4-wheel drive truck gets better gas mileage than its competitor, one laundry detergent gets clothes cleaner than another, etc. Finally, the size of hail is invariably described by comparing it to something the audience knows well. Hail is the size of “golf balls”, “baseballs” or “grapefruit”.
Figurative Analogy
Strengths: They have strong emotional appeal. They are useful for explaining concepts to uninformed or moderately informed audiences because figurative analogies allow you to compare an unknown concept to something with which the audience is familiar. Caution: Since the items compared are from different classes they are bound to have some dissimilarities. For this reason figurative analogies are considered to be less strong than literal analogies. Be sure the similarities outweigh the dissimilarities in the things you're comparing.
Figurative analogies compare two or more items of different classifications. Often figurative analogies are used to explain something unfamiliar by comparing it to something well-known. “High blood pressure is like a time bomb,” is a figurative analogy. You may not know anything about high blood pressure, but everyone knows how a time bomb works. This analogy would help the audience understand how high blood pressure, if left untreated, could affect them.
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Handy Places to Find Evidence in the Morton College Learning Resource Center
Almanacs - Almanacs are reference books issued yearly. They’re useful for gathering statistics and summarizing the previous year’s noteworthy events. Card Catalog The card catalog indexes books in three ways. Subject Catalog Organizes book topics in alphabetical order. Title Catalog Organizes book titles in alphabetical order. Author Catalog Organizes books alphabetically by the author’s last name. Check the publication date of any book before you use it. Since many speech topics are current (this is especially true of persuasive speeches), you must find the most recent evidence available. Publishing a book takes time. Also, a book may have sat on the library shelf for several years. CINAHL - The Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) indexes abstracts and citations from over 650 allied health journals covering consumer health, patient education materials and patient care. CINAHL listings begin in 1982 and run to the present day. Dictionary - You’ve used it as a spelling aid, but for public speaking it’s more important as a pronunciation aid. Look up any word you’re not sure how to pronounce. Nothing ruins your ethos faster than mispronouncing a big word. Encyclopedia - Encyclopedias are general reference books giving quick topic overviews. They’re good starting points and suggest further research directions. ILLINET Online - Although Morton College books are not listed on ILLINET Online, 800 libraries throughout the State of Illinois are. You may request books from other libraries be delivered to Morton College. Infotrac Health Related Reference Center - This CD-ROM source provides full-text health- related articles from newspapers, magazines, pamphlets and reference books dating from 1995. Interview - Testimony is derived from expert opinions, and you can find your own expert. Most organizations have a public relations officer who speaks with people making inquiries. I’d make four interviewing suggestions. 1. Make an appointment with your interviewee. 2. Conduct the interview after you’ve done some research and have a working subject knowledge. You’ll ask better questions. You’ll also have a better understanding of your interviewee’s answers. 3. Prepare an advance question list. If you ask the right questions your interviewee will say almost anything you want him/her to say. Feel free to ad-lib additional questions. 4. Bring a tape recorder unless you write very fast or know shorthand. If the tape recorder makes your interviewee uncomfortable, explain it’s there to ensure accuracy. Newspaper Indexes - Newspaper indexes organize articles written in a newspaper alphabetically by subject during a given time period. The index gives the relevant article’s date, section, page
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and column. Various towns and cities have different local newspaper indexes. The New York Times Index is commonly available. On-line Research - Open your Internet browser (usually Internet Explorer or Netscape). On the browser’s home page, there is usually a search field. Type in the term you want to search for and press the “Go” button. If you want to search for a phrase, put quotes (“”) around it. Other search engines, such as Hotbot (www.hotbot.com), are also available. Be careful to validate your source’s credentials, and check to be sure the information you’ve found is timely. OPAC - The Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) allows you to access books from seventy- six Suburban Library System (SLS) libraries and the Morton College library. You can search by subject, author or title. OPAC shows whether a book is available or checked out. You may request SLS library books be delivered to Morton College. Opposing Viewpoints - Full-text, online database covering both sides of current controversial issues. It includes articles, charts, topic overviews, images and links to subject-linked websites. Pro-Quest - The Pro-Quest data base provides bibliographic and full-text listings. It’s divided into three reference sources. The Pro-Quest database is updated monthly. Periodical Abstract Research II - Periodical Abstract Research II summarizes and indexes articles from roughly 1,600 journals beginning in 1986 and running to the present day. The most recent six months of The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal are also indexed. Full- text listings from 400 titles are contained in General Periodicals Research II. Business Periodicals Select - Also known as ABI INFORM, it contains full-text listings from 150 popular business and management magazines and abstracts from over 350 more. New York Times On disc - This is a listing of all New York Times articles since 1981. Full-text articles are available on microfiche. Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature - In its hard copy format, the Reader’s Guide is an alphabetical listing of major magazine articles published during a certain time period arranged by subject. It’s published in paperback form several times during the year and as a hard-bound volume at years end. The Reader’s Guide is also available in some libraries on a computer program listing magazine articles over a ten-year period. Telephone Book - Many governmental agencies and private nationwide advocacy groups have local chapters. Local police and fire departments are everywhere. The telephone book lists their phone numbers. A phone call may provide you with up-to-date information, a local perspective on your topic and an in-depth expert interview. Read the four interview suggestions before making your call. Vertical File - The vertical file is a series of filing cabinets containing pamphlets. The pamphlets are organized alphabetically by subject. Evidence is covered by the Midterm "You Ought to Know by Now" Review Questions #133-168 in the Using Your Speech Power! workbook.
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Sample Footnote and Endnote Formats
(Books & Pamphlets) One Author 1. Eleanor Ruggles, Prince of Players Edwin Booth (New York: W. W. Norton, 1953): 68.
Multiple Authors 2. Peter Calvocoressi and Guy Wint, The R A. F. at War (Alexandria: Time Life Books, 1981) 534.
Anonymous 3. The World Almanac and Book of Facts, (New Jersey: Funk and Wagnalls, 1995) 694-695.
Reference Book 4. “Edwin Booth,” Grolier Encyclopedia of Knowledge (1994).
(Magazine Articles) Weekly or Biweekly Magazine With Author’s Name 5. Jeff Blyskal, “2 Old 2 Drive,” Good Housekeeping (June. 1996): 91.
Weekly or Biweekly Magazine Without Author’s Name 6. “Drunk Driving: A License to Kill,” Reader’s Digest (Dec.. 1993): 133.
Magazine Article with Multiple Authors 7. Bob Hewitt, Don Snider, Lorna Grisby, Cathy Free and Bob Calandra, “Hell on Wheels,” People Weekly October 17, 1994: 80.
(Newspaper Article) Author’s Name Given 8. R. C. Longworth, “Nation of Liars-Cheating Steinmentz Students Lamentably Were Just Mimicking World Around Them,” Chicago Tribune (16 Apr. 1995, Sunday ed.): E6.
Unsigned Article 9. “Aging Drivers, Risky Roads,” USA Today (12 December 1994, final ed.) Sect. A 12.
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(Interview) 10. Phyllis Warr, Director of Education State University, personal interview, 5 August 2001.
(Quotation from a Play) 11. Taming of the Shrew III, ii, 130-9.
(Poem) 12. Edwin Arlington Robinson, “Mr. Flood’s Party.” The Norton Introduction to Literature (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1973): 89.
(Computer Materials) Magazine Article from America Online 13. William F. Hosford and John L. Duncan. “The Aluminum Beverage Can,” Scientific American (Sept. 1994) 48 America Online.
Internet Article-World Wide Web 14. “The Impact of Recycling Household Waste on Downstream Energy Recovery Systems,” Journal of the World Resource Foundation 48 (Feb. 1996) n. pag. Netscape, World Wide Web.
CD-ROM Encyclopedia 15. “Baseball on Strike,” 1996 Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia, CD-ROM.
CD-ROM Newspaper 16. Natalie Angier. “Chemists Learn Why Vegetables are Good for You.” New York Times, 13 April 1993, late ed.: C1 New York Times Ondisc. CD-ROM. UMI Proquest. Oct. 1993.
Publication on Diskette 17. Richard D. Lanham. The Electronic Word: Democracy, Technology, and the Arts. Diskette. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1993.
(With thanks to Dr. James Wolford and the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers for the electronic formats.)
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Using Evidence in a Speech
The following speech, The Bombing of Dresden, uses six of the seven evidence types. Here’s where you’ll find examples of the six types.
Factual Examples may be seen in support points 1-5 under IIC. The five support points give true specific instances of the Dresden fire storm. More factual examples occur in III A 1-5 as the places where one half million refugees were living are explained. The story of the refugees is resumed in a series of factual examples under IIIB.
Although the speech contains no pure Expanded Factual Examples, the four pieces of testimony under II C 6 serve the same purpose. The details of their stories presented together give an in-depth description of the Dresden fire storm
A Hypothetical Illustration may be found in II B 2. Sir Norman Bottomly is quoted giving a perfect case scenario during which the Dresden bombing could have appeared to be close air support for Russian troops.
Statistics are found throughout main point II subpoint B. The support and further support points under B give statistics regarding the number of planes and bomb tonnage in the three combined Dresden bombing raids. The support points under IIIB present statistics giving casualty estimates.
Testimony is interspersed throughout the speech for emotional appeal. A quotation is the initial introduction attention-getting device. Bombing eyewitnesses are quoted in II B 2 e and II C 6 a, b, c, and d. The final three examples of testimony, a quotation from Winston Churchill, a plaque inscription on a rebuilt Dresden church and a Friedrich Nietzche quote occur in the conclusion.
A Literal Analogy in presented in IIE. The scale of the Dresden raid is explained by comparing the bomb damage done to Dresden during the three raids to all the bomb damage done to London during the entire war.
Finally, this is a persuasive speech, so all of the evidence comes from one side of the issue and is presented to convince the audience to adopt the attitude the speaker is supporting in the thesis statement.
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Specific Purpose: To persuade the audience the Allied bombing of Dresden in February 1945 was morally unjustifiable
Thesis Statement: The Allied bombing of Dresden in February of 1945 was morally unjustifiable.
Organizational Pattern: Topical
Introduction Device: Quotation and background information
Conclusion Device: Quotation
Approximate Speech Delivery Time: 11:15
The Bombing of Dresden Introduction: “My father wrote a lot about this,” said Matthais Griebel, the Director of the Dresden City Museum and the son of artist Otto Griebel, “and he said one sentence with which I fully agree: ‘The war that started in Germany returned to Germany.’ I can’t say I hate the Americans or the British.”(1) Griebel is a survivor, a survivor of the bombing of the city of Dresden, the first step in Operation “Thunderclap”, a plan to destroy German morale by the large scale bombing of cities in eastern Germany. Operation “Thunderclap” was first suggested in August of 1944, two months after the D-Day. The plan was initially rejected but re-surfaced following the Russian offensive in January of 1945. At that time, however, several military commanders, including “Thunderclap’s” architect, Chief of the Air Staff Sir Charles Portal, felt the bomber’s efforts would be better spent on oil targets, jet factories and submarine pens.(2) “Thunderclap” seemed to be a dead issue once again until January 26, when Prime Minister Winston Churchill sent a memo to the Secretary of State for Air Sir Archibald Sinclair stating in his view “...Berlin, and no doubt other large cities in East Germany, should ... now be considered especially attractive targets.”(3) Sinclair was told to respond the next day. The only available plan was “Thunderclap”. Suddenly, “Thunderclap” became official policy. “Thunderclap” targeted the eastern German cities of Berlin, Chemnitz, Leipzig and Dresden. Dresden was the first target of a massive Allied bombardment. (4) Thesis Statement: The Allied bombing in Dresden in February 1945 was morally unjustifiable. I. There was very little militarily to be gained by bombing Dresden. A. Military analysts recognized three legitimate military targets in the Dresden area. 1. The most important one being a railway bridge over the Elbe River. a. Had this bridge been destroyed it could have halted railway traffic for months. b. But the bridge survived the raid completely intact c. Because it wasn’t a target. (5)
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2. Secondly, there was a major railroad marshaling yard. (6) a. This yard had been attacked twice previously. (1.) First, on October 7, 1944, by 30 U.S. Bombers (2.) And again on January 16, 1945, by 133 U.S. Liberators. (7) b. The yard contained a great many railroad cars. c. The yard also survived undamaged because d. It was outside of the target area. (8) 3. Thirdly, a major highway bridge located West of the city. a. It also survived intact because b. It was never attacked. (9) B. There had been a rumor an armored division would be moving through Dresden to the eastern front at the time of the attack, but the rumor was proven false prior to the bombing. (10) C. What the bombing did target was railway and communications facilities in Altstadt, or Old Town, the oldest part of the city dating back to the Middle Ages. (11) D. Because of this, the number two man at Bomber Command, Air-Marshall Sir Robert Saundby, asked the attack on Dresden be reconsidered but was rejected. (12)
II. The scale of bombing indicates it was designed to be much more than a tactical strike; it was a terror campaign against civilians. A. Although Dresden was located in eastern Germany the advancing Russian army did not request the attack. (13) 1. The only bombing support requested by the Russians was the rail junctions at a. Berlin b. And Leipzig. (14) 2. As Sir Norman Bottomly, the deputy of the proposer of the “Thunderclap” project, wrote in January 1945, “If the operation were launched at a time when there was still no obvious slackening in the momentum of the Russian drive, it might well have the appearance of a close coordination- ordination of planning between the Russians and ourselves.” (15) 3. With no obvious slackening in the Russian advance, three weeks later Dresden was attacked.
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B. The bombers arrived at Dresden in three waves. 1. On the night of February 13, 1945 at 10:15pm a. 243 Lancaster Heavy Bombers from #5 group b. Dropped 1,477 tons of bombs including (1.) Large high explosives called blockbusters designed to (a.) Destroy roofs and (b.) Shatter windows for the (2.) Fire-starting incendiary phosphorus bombs. c. The first attack took 25 minutes.
d. And set the city ablaze. (16) 2. Three hours later, at 1:23 am in the early morning of Valentine’s Day, which was also Ash Wednesday, the second wave of British Bombers arrived. a. This time 529 Lancaster Heavy Bombers
b. Dropped 1,181 more tons of bombs. (17)
c. Including 650,000 more incendiaries (18) d. The group’s Master Bomber ordered his planes to attack areas not hit by the first attack. (19) e. A Royal Air Force Pilot flying in the second wave described the scene this way, “The fantastic glow from 200 miles away grew even brighter as we went into the target. At 20,000 feet we could see details in the unearthly blaze that had never been visible before; for the first time in many operations I felt sorry for the population below.” (20) 3. But the Allies weren’t done yet. The third wave arrived at 17 minutes past noon. This time the Americans took their turn. a. 311 B-17 Flying Fortress Heavy Bombers b. From the American 8th Air Force
c. Dropped 771 more tons of explosives. (21) d. The B-17s were escorted by nearly 300 P-51 Mustang fighters, half of whom had orders to attack targets of opportunity. (22)
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C. The first attack succeeded in starting a fire storm. 1. Fire storms begin when many smaller fires are suddenly joined together to form one large blaze. 2. Air temperatures can reach 1800 degrees 3. A violent updraft is created in the center of the fire storm
4. As more oxygen is violently sucked in to feed the flames. (23)
5. At Dresden the bombing created an 11 square mile inferno. (24) 6. Some witnesses remembered the Dresden fire storm this way. a. Bodo Baumann was one of 200 students in a rescue convoy walking in a single file line across the bridge to the Altstadt when the man leading their column was sucked into the fires by the storm-generated winds. (25) b. 8-year-old Matthias Griebel and his family were driven from their cellar by the fire that burned off their hair and forced them outside. “The street was on fire,” recalled Griebel. “The asphalt was burning, houses were collapsed, there were bomb craters in the street filled with water and dead people lying in them. It was a burning hell.” (26) c. Herta Reichel who lived in an area not struck by the attack said, “It’s almost impossible to describe that night. There was so much light that ten kilometers away from Dresden you could read a newspaper in the middle of the street. The city was one big torch.....to destroy so much beauty....we older people will never forget how Dresden once was.” (27) d. The 83-year-old German poet and writer, Gerhart Hauptmann, who witnessed the two-day-bombing raid and it’s aftermath had this to say, “Who has forgotten how to weep learns it again at the destruction of Dresden.” (28)
D. Dresden burned for seven days and eight nights. (29) E. After the bombing there were 1600 square acres of complete devastation, almost three times the amount of damage done to London during the entire war. (30)
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III. The city of Dresden was flooded with civilian refugees. A. The normal population of 630,000 had swelled to about 1.3 million by refugees fleeing the advancing Russian Army. (31) 1. Ursula Brueckner, 17 years old at the time of the attack, recalled seeing about 10,000 refugees camped out in the Dresden fairgrounds. She didn’t think many of them survived. (32) 2. Railroad waiting rooms were packed with fleeing refugees and their belongings. (33) 3. Public buildings were turned into makeshift refugee centers where the homeless could sleep. (34) 4. The Grosser Garten, a park roughly the size of New York’s Central Park that also housed the city zoo, was home for 200,000 more refugees and slave laborers living in shacks and tents. (35)
5. And more refugees were streaming in every moment. (36) B. The Civilian casualties were appalling. 1. Although contemporary Allied estimates put the Dresden death toll as between 8200 and 25,000 (37) 2. Hans Voight, one of the German officials in charge of identifying the dead, estimated the number of dead at 135,000. (38)
3. Modern scholars give estimates ranging from 35,000 to 135,000 (39) 4. No one will no for certain because of (a.) The unknown number of refugees in the city (b.) And the ferocity of the fire storm. C. Disposal of the bodies was a major undertaking unto itself. 1. Thousands of rescue workers were involved, including Prisoners of War. (40)
2. Thousands of bodies were packed in boats and floated downstream. (41) 3. Flame-throwers disposed of many of the rest including one pile of corpses estimated to have been 300 feet long, 9 feet high and 30 feet wide. (42)
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4. People died everywhere. a. Many suffocated in their own basements because the firestorm used up all of the oxygen. (43) b. In the Central railway station: (1.) Many refugees lay in the lower reaches of the building as if they were peacefully sleeping; all of them suffocated by carbon monoxide. (44) (2.) The second air raid hit as children were being hastily loaded into trains for evacuation. The
children were found huddled in heaps also dead. (45) c. People who hid in round metal advertising kiosks were roasted to death. (46) d. In Grosser Garten, the cities’ main park, (1.) Refugees ran into large water tanks to escape the flames only to drown in deep water instead. (47)
(2.) Every zoo animal died except the vultures. (48) e. Along the Elbe River thousands of refugees tried to flee the burning city only to find they had become targets of opportunity for the P-51 fighters escorting the final wave of American bombers. (49) D. The refugees had always been part of the plan. As the Joint Intelligence Committee, a group of top British intelligence experts, wrote of the “Thunderclap” plan in January of 1945, the bombing attacks would cause a heavy flow of German refugees that “would be bound to create great confusion, interfere with the orderly movement of troops to the front and hamper the German military and administrative machine.” (50)
IV. When the bombing was over, Altstadt, the oldest and most culturally significant part of the city, lay in ruins.
A. It had been the Capitol of the old state of Saxony. (51) B. Napoleon had commandeered it in 1813 and won his last major battle near there. (52) C. It was a city with treasures dating back to Medieval times.
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1. Fortunately most of the movable art treasures were taken outside the city prior to the attack. a. These were later found by Soviet troops b. And returned to Dresden between 1955-58. (53) 2. Buildings could not be moved and a great deal of famous Baroque architecture was destroyed, including: a The Semper Opera House was transformed into a glowing shell. (54) b. The Zwinger Palace, a conglomeration of six museums, was reduced to rubble. (55) c. Katolishe Hofkirche, the Catholic Court Church, was not completely rebuilt until the early 1970s. (56) d. And the 18th century Frauenkirche; (Church of our Lady), a large Lutheran Church with a bell-shaped dome that survived the bombing only to collapse on February 15. It still lies in ruins. (57) (1.) The cost of rebuilding the church is estimated at between 170 and 270 million dollars. (2.) Professor and art historian Heinrich Magirius described the current state of the rebuilding project, “Until two years ago (1993) it was just a huge rubble heap, but we have been able to identify 9,000 stones from the outside wall and 80,000 stones from inside. We also have identified 2,000 stones that were part of sculptures in the church, and found fragments of paintings from the dome.” (58) e. Along with 75,000 houses and apartments. (59) f. A total of six square miles of devastation. (60)
Conclusion:By the end of the war Winston Churchill, whose hastily scrawled 57 word note to Secretary Sinclair had launched the Dresden attack, had changed his mind. On March 28, 1945, he wrote to the Chiefs of Staff committee in part, “It seems to me that the moment has come when the question of bombing of German cities simply for the sake of increasing terror, though under other pretexts, should be reviewed. Otherwise we shall come into control of an utterly ruined land.....The destruction of Dresden remains a serious query against the conduct of Allied bombing.” (61) This memo did not become public until years after the War. At the time Churchill was persuaded to withdraw it and issue a softer version. A plaque on the rebuilt Katolishe Hofkirche, written in six languages, closes with a reference to the bombing, “A few hours in a night sufficed to destroy what was done in years of work. Hence, this cathedral makes us continually aware of the necessity to safeguard peace.” (62) Ironically, though, what is perhaps the final word on the Dresden attack was written nearly sixty years before the attack occurred by the philosopher Friedrich Nietzche, “Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster.” (63)
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Endnotes 1. Ray Moseley, “Dresden Recalls the Allies act of ‘terror’,” Chicago Tribune 12 Feb. 1995: 24. 2. John Toland, The Last One Hundred Days (New York: Bantam, 1985) 136. 3. Alexander McKee, Dresden 1945: The Devil’s Tinderbox (New York: E. P. Dutton, 1982) 271. 4. Toland, 147. 5. McKee, 243. 6. McKee, 243-4. 7. Toland, 138. 8. McKee, 244. 9. McKee, 244. 10. Peter Calvocoressi and Guy Wint, The R.A.F. at War (Alexandria: Time Life Books, 1981) 534. 11. Toland, 137. 12. Toland, 137. 13. McKee, 264. 14. McKee, 275. 15. Toland, 135. 16. Moseley, 21. 17. Moseley, 21. 18. Toland, 143. 19. Toland, 143. 20. Calvocoressi, 161. 21. Moseley, 21. 22. Toland, 146. 23. Moseley, 24. 24. Toland, 143. 25. Toland, 143. 26. Moseley, 21. 27. John L. Eliot, “Art Treasures of Dresden,” National Geographic Nov. 1978: 706-7. 28. John J. Putman, “East Germany The Struggle to Succeed,” National Geographic Sep. 1974: 321. 29. Calvocoressi, 163. 30. Toland, 148.
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31. Toland, 139. 32. Moseley, 24. 33. Toland, 139. 34. Toland, 139. 35. Toland, 139. 36. Toland, 139. 37. McKee, 274. 38. Calvocoressi, 163. 39. Toland, 148. 40. Toland, 154. 41. Toland, 154. 42. Toland, 154. 43. Toland, 145. 44. Toland, 145. 45. Toland, 145. 46. Toland, 145. 47. Toland, 143. 48. Toland, 145. 49. Toland, 147. 50. Toland, 135. 51. James L. Stokesbury, A Short History of World War II (New York: William Morrow and Co. Inc., 1980.) 286. 52. Eliot, 702. 53. Eliot, 705. 54. Toland, 148. 55. Eliot, 709. 56. Eliot, 717. 57. Moseley, 24. 58. Moseley, 24. 59. Eliot, 702. 60. Eliot, 702. 61. McKee, 270. 62. Eliot, 702. 63. Emily Morisonbeck, Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations 15th ed. (Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1980) 657.
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Bibliography Baker, Ralph. The R.A.F. at War. Alexandria: Time Life Books: 1981.
Calvocoressi, Peter, and Guy Wint. Total War: The Story of World War II. New York: Random House, 1972.
Eliot, John L. “Art Treasures of Dresden.” National Geographic 154 No. 5 Nov. 1978: 702-717.
Jablonski, Edward. Flying Fortress. New York: Doubleday, 1965.
McKee, Alexander. Dresden 1945: The Devil’s Tinderbox. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1982.
Morisonback, Emily, ed. Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations. 15th ed. Boston: Little, Brown and Co.: 1980.
Moseley, Ray. “Dresden recalls the Allies’ act of ‘terror.” Chicago Tribune 12 Feb. 1995: 24+.
Putman, John J. “East Germany The Struggle to Succeed.” National Geographic 146 No. 3 Sep. 1974: 295-329.
Stokesbury, James L. A Short History of World War II. New York: William Morrow and Co. Inc. 1980.
Toland, John. The Last One Hundred Days. New York: Bantam, 1985.
The War Lords. Ed. Field Marshal Sir Michael Carver. Boston: Little, Brown and Co. 1976.
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A Passing Thought Definition of a good speech; A good beginning and a good end— preferably close together.
Anonymous
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Chapter 6 Preview Page
Writing Speech Introductions and Conclusions that Work for You “Unless a speaker can interest his/her audience at once, his/her effort will be a failure.” Clarence Darrow (1857-1938) Lawyer, author and orator
Chapter Goals 1. To understand the three speech introduction functions 2. To understand the role of ethos 3. To learn six attention-getting devices and understand the strategies for their use 4. To learn five audience preparation devices and understand the strategies for their use 5. To be able to construct effective speech introductions that get attention, prepare the audience for the speech body and establish the speaker's ethos. 6. To be able to recognize introduction devices 7. To learn conclusion devices and understand the strategies for their use 8. To be able to write effective conclusions that give the audience a sense of completeness and remind the audience of the speech's main ideas 9. To understand the audience’s existing knowledge about your topic affects your introduction. 10. To understand how to use your introduction to deal with persuasive audience types: friendly (agrees with the speaker), neutral (no opinion) and hostile disagrees with the speaker
Terms to Know Ethos Illustration Focus Audience on Topic Attention-getting devices Reference to Occasion Est. a Common Ground Direct Statement of Topic Body preparation devices Summary Startling Statement Establish Your Expertise Challenge Rhetorical Question Background Information Friendly audience Quotation Est. Topic's Importance Neutral audience Hostile audience
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Writing Speech Introductions and Conclusions that Work for You
If you're riding in your car listening to the radio, how long does it take you to change the station if you're not amused by what your hearing? If you're the one with the TV remote control, how long does it take you to change the channel if you're not interested in what you're seeing? Why do I ask? Because, according to you, that's how long you have to get the audience's attention for your speech. It doesn't matter how well you've written your speech body if your introduction doesn't get your audience to listen to the speech.
After you write the body of your speech, plan your introduction based upon the speech topic and your audience analysis. The speech introduction is another tool helping you achieve your Specific Purpose.
The Three Jobs Your Speech Introduction Should Do 1. Establishing the speaker’s ethos. 2. Getting the audience’s attention. 3. Preparing the audience for the body of the speech.
Let’s elaborate on each of the three speech introduction functions.
Establishing the speaker’s ethos Ethos is defined as a speaker’s image in the audience's minds. The introduction is the audience’s first opportunity to see you, hear your voice and formulate their opinions of you. Throughout your introduction, you want to project the image of someone who is trustworthy, knowledgeable about the topic and concerned about the audience.
Getting the audience’s attention
This is the first job in your introduction. Nothing else matters if the audience doesn't listen. You need to GET attention. Attention doesn’t come to you. “Get” is an active word. You go and GET something. You need to GET the audience’s attention for yourself and your topic. A good attention-getting introduction GETS the audience’s attention for a speech topic they might not listen to otherwise. Here are some attention-getting strategies you can use when you’re planning your speech introduction. These attention-getting devices may be used singly or in combinations to capture the audience's interest, but in all cases you should begin your speech with an attention-getting device. You must get the audience’s attention before you can accomplish anything else.
I’ll write two sample introductions for each attention-getting device. The first attention-getting device in each section will be applied to a speech with the Specific Purpose, “to inform the audience about William Shakespeare's effect on the English language.” The second example's topic will vary.
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Attention-Getting Devices
Direct Statement of the Topic A direct statement of the topic introduction tells the audience the speech topic without embellishment.
William Shakespeare had a profound effect on the English language.
or,
Abortion should be prohibited.
Since a direct statement of the topic relies on merely mentioning the topic to get the audience's attention, it should only be used for audiences who are already interested in the topic. You frequently hear direct statement of the topic introductions at business and committee meetings where the audience’s attention is assured. A direct statement of topic introduction does nothing to get the attention of audiences with little or no topic knowledgeable or interest. If you aren't fascinated by William Shakespeare's effect on the English language, for instance, you've already decided not to listen to the speech. If you’re giving a persuasive speech, you should only use direct statement of the topic introductions for a friendly audience. For instance, “Abortion should be prohibited” would get the attention of a friendly audience (one agreeing with the speaker) but would alienate a hostile audience (one disagreeing with the speaker) by reminding them the speaker thinks they’re wrong.
Startling Statement Startling statements get the audience’s attention by beginning the speech with a shocking, surprising and provocative statement. Just being shocking isn’t enough for a good startling statement. You must be shocking in a way that doesn’t damage your ethos and also prepares your audience for the speech body. An irrelevant startling statement, no matter how shocking it is, will confuse the audience and damage your ethos. Here are two startling statements fulfilling all the requirements.
“Puke”, “cold-blooded”, “useless” “yelping”, “anchovy”, “watchdog”. According to the Oxford English Dictionary those are six of the over 1,700 words William Shakespeare may have added to the English language.
or
One woman dies of AIDS every 2 minutes. In the same two minutes four more women become infected.
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Rhetorical Question A rhetorical question creates suspense among the audience awaiting the answer. You don’t expect anyone in the audience to answer the question. Instead, you’re making them wonder what the answer to the question will be and carrying their initial interest into your speech. A rhetorical question should be carefully phrased to make it as suspenseful as possible. Avoid bland rhetorical questions like, “Have you ever wondered how bread is baked?” or “What is diabetes?” unless you feel your audience is already interested in the topic. A well-phrased rhetorical question is useful for arousing curiosity and thereby getting the attention of a neutral or uninformed audience.
Did you know every time you "puke" you could be quoting William Shakespeare?
or,
Are you one of the 10% of women who will develop breast cancer and just don’t know it yet?
Rhetorical questions often resemble startling statements. The difference is the startling statement says something surprising while the rhetorical question asks something surprising.
Quotation A quotation restates the words of another, usually famous, person. A quotation should be short and exciting. Good emotionally-appealing quotations foreshadow the speech's theme in one sentence. Always name the person you're quoting.
If you've called jealousy a "green-eyed monster", waited with "bated breath", refused to "budge an inch", had to be "cruel to be kind", found "method in the madness", complained "He hath eaten me out of house and home", gave "sweets to the sweet", gone on a "wild-goose chase", had "too much of a good thing", or said "Knock, knock who's there…?" you've already quoted William Shakespeare in your everyday conversation.
or
Bernard Shaw wrote, “He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches.”
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Illustration An illustration is a story. Illustrations get the audience’s attention by emotionally involving them in the story's outcome and carrying that interest over to the speech. Always spend extra time practicing your illustration's delivery to make sure you tell your story well. Create a mood by using vivid language and imagery. Spend extra time practicing your story to make sure your mood comes across. If you’re telling a suspenseful story be sure it sounds that way. If it’s sad, you should sound sad as well. Illustrations work especially well with neutral or uninformed audiences to draw their attention to unfamiliar topics.
He was born the son of a small-town politician. When he was nineteen he got his girlfriend pregnant and had to get married. He had no career so he went to the big city to find his fortune. Somehow, nobody knows for sure, he became an actor. He may once have played the part of a ghost, but no one’s certain because no one remembers him for his acting. Instead, his fame is based on thirty-eight plays and a few poems some people claim he wasn’t intelligent enough to write. When he died he made a hand-written will. As an afterthought, between two of the lines he jotted the only mention of his wife in the document. He left her his second best bed. All this is part of the mystery of the man named William Shakespeare.
or
It began innocently enough. Christina Noble had come to meet an associate of the catering business she owned. Now, she stood on a street in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, transfixed at the sight before her; two small girls in the filthy remnants of clothing, covered in body lice and eating ants to survive. One of the girls reached out her hand. Christina saw the ants running across her face. Her first thought was to get away, away from the filth, away from the poverty, but then something from inside made her change her mind. She picked up the little girls in her arms, took them to her hotel room, bathed them and gave them new clothes. That was how “Mama Tina”, as she is now called by the children of Ho Chi Mihn City, came to be. Six years and 42,000 children later she continues to take abandoned children off the streets and find them homes.
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Reference to the Occasion Reference to the occasion introductions are used when speeches are given for special events. Speeches delivered at holidays, banquets honoring a certain person or other special functions frequently use reference to the occasion introductions. The one thing you know about everyone in your audience is they're interested in the event or they wouldn't be there. So, you get their attention by referring to the occasion in the introduction, and linking your speech to the event being celebrated.
Today, April 23, 1999, marks the 435th anniversary of the birth of William Shakespeare, which we have come together to celebrate.
or,
We are gathered here to honor Rachel Roberts as she retires after forty years with our company.
A reference to the occasion introduction should only be used in situations where audience interest is guaranteed because of their attendance at a special event.
Preparing the audience for the speech body
The speech body is always written first. After the body has been completed, the introduction is tailored to meet the audience’s needs as you've analyzed them. No two audiences are alike. Different audiences present different challenges and problems for a speaker. You may decide to spend extra time in your introduction preparing your audience for the speech body based on your audience analysis' results.
Each of the following five devices are used in special audience situations. With the occasional exception of establishing a common ground, all of these devices follow an attention- getting device. I’ll write two different examples of each device. Every sample introduction will begin with an attention-getting device, just as it would in a speech. The device preparing the audience for the speech body will be typed in bold face and italicized following the attention- getting device.
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Establishing Your Expertise Establishing your expertise is an ethos-building device. You establish your expertise when you have special qualifications in the speech topic area. If you’re trying “to persuade the audience American cars are more reliable than Japanese cars” and you’re an auto mechanic, or if your goal is “to inform the audience how to do CPR” and you’re a nurse, let your audience know. This proves you have first-hand knowledge about your topic and makes you a more credible speaker in your audience's eyes.
It’s a disease for which there is no cure. Ten million Americans have it. It’s a disease that affects men, women, teenagers, children, whites, blacks, Hispanics and me. I have it, too. It’s a disease from which I’ll be recovering for the rest of my life, but I will never be cured; Alcoholism. I’m a recovering alcoholic, and I’ve seen what alcohol can do.
or,
“Off we go into the wild blue yonder,” begins the official song of the United States Air Force. I’ve been there, too, at least in my mind, every time I fly one of the six gas- powered model airplanes I’ve built. Flying model airplanes is an exciting hobby for anyone.
Background Information Background information is given whenever you feel your audience needs to know more your topic's history. Background information is given to uninformed and moderately informed audiences who are only casually acquainted with your topic.
Every fifty-two seconds another American develops diabetes. Diabetes attacks the pancreas, causing it to lose the ability to produce insulin, the substance necessary to process blood sugar.
or,
When you were young would you have wanted to attend a school where you learned what you wanted to learn when you wanted to learn it? If you went to a Montessori School you would have done just that. The Montessori System is named for Maria Montessori who first used it with mentally handicapped children in Rome at the beginning of the 20th century. The Montessori System allows young children to move from task to task at their own pace. Montessori education stresses self-motivation and self-discipline.
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Establishing the Topic's Importance You establish the topic's importance to show the audience your topic is relevant. You should establish the topic's importance on two occasions. First, when the topic is unfamiliar to your audience, and second, when you think the audience might perceive your topic as being old or mundane material they already know.
Whenever Richard Cory went down town, We people on the pavement looked at him; He was a gentleman from sole to crown, Clean favored, and imperially slim. And he was always quietly arrayed, And he was always human when he talked; But still he fluttered pulses when he said, “Good-morning,” and he glittered when he walked And he was rich--yes, richer than a king-- And admirably schooled in every grace: In fine, we thought that he was everything To make us wish that we were in his place. So on we worked, and waited for the light, And went without the meat, and cursed the bread; And Richard Cory, one calm summer night, Went home and put a bullet through his head. A century has passed since Edward Arlington Robinson wrote his poem Richard Cory, but the scene is the same. Nearly 30,000 Americans will commit suicide this year. They will be of all ages, races, creeds and both sexes. That’s why learning the warning signs of impending suicide is so important. You could be saving the life of someone you love.
or,
Do you know the single most preventable cause of death in the United States today? Smoking. A recent study estimated 400,000 Americans will die this year from breathing their own smoke. Do you know what the third leading preventable cause of death is? Inhaling other people’s smoke! Some estimates say as many as 50,000 Americans will die from inhaling second-hand smoke this year alone. Smoking is a health issue affecting all of us, whether we smoke or not. Although the harmful side-effects of smoking have been known for years the death total continues to mount, and a new generation of smokers is lighting up in our high schools and junior highs.
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Focus the Audience on Your Topic You focus the audience on your topic by telling your audience the smaller part of a large topic your speech will be discussing. First, get their attention to the broader topic, then direct their attention to the more narrow part of the topic you’ll be covering.
World-wide six million people a year die from cancer. According to the American Cancer Society 30% of us in this room will eventually suffer some form of cancer. The success rate for curing cancer is directly related to its early detection. The earlier the cancer is discovered the better the chances are for a complete cure. Breast cancer in women is the third-deadliest form of the disease and one of the most curable if the cancer is detected early enough. These are the steps every woman should take to protect herself from breast cancer.
or,
We’ve all heard the stories, “Drug bust, 10 kilos of marijuana seized”. “Smuggler’s plane loaded with marijuana crashes.” “Marijuana with a street value of $3,000,000 dollars discovered”, but today I’d like to talk about another side of America’s most popular illegal drug; How marijuana is being legally used to aid patients with glaucoma.
Establishing a Common Ground Establishing a common ground is a hostile audience technique. Rather than beginning your speech by telling the audience something they’ll disagree with, you use your introduction to stress an area of agreement between yourself and the audience. Then, if you must, present less agreeable material. Establishing a Common Ground is the one audience preparation device that sometimes begins a speech instead of an attention-getter. If you believe your audience already knows your position you may begin by establishing a common ground instead of using an attention-getting device. Let’s look at two examples of establishing a common ground. In the first one, let’s assume your audience is opposed to any type of gun control. You’re advocating some form of gun control. This audience would be hostile toward your speech, and to keep their attention as well as to prepare them for your speech body you would have to establish a common ground.
A teenager is sitting in his car when suddenly another car with two teenagers in it pulls up behind him. A gunshot is fired into the back of his head, and the other car speeds off. The dead teenager wasn’t a gang member. He was a basketball player. He had stopped his car to offer a friend a ride home after a basketball game. This story happened in Aurora, Illinois, but stories like it are happening everywhere. Young punks who think a gun in the hand gives them the right to play God are terrorizing our neighborhoods. We need to get these hoodlums off the street and get
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guns out of the hands of criminals who make us afraid to walk our own streets after dark. Let’s look at several possible ways of accomplishing this.
Even though the audience may be hostile to the idea of gun control legislation affecting law- abiding citizens, everyone favors getting guns away from “criminals” “hoodlums” and “young punks”.
or,
In Northern Illinois we have a program requiring everyone to drive their cars to a state facility and wait in line to have their vehicles’ emissions tested. If your car fails the test you must have it repaired and try again. It’s free, but most people find the program annoying and would be mildly hostile toward a speech supporting it. If you were delivering a speech supporting the emissions testing program you might establish a common ground this way:
Would you be willing to invest 20 minutes a year to make the air safer to breath?
Using Your Conclusion to Remind and Motivate
People remember the last thing they hear, so use your conclusion to reinforce your speech's major ideas in emotional terms. This helps achieve your Specific Purpose. As you reach the end of your conclusion, slow down your delivery to let the audience know you’re coming to the end. This gives the audience a sense of completeness. Here are five helpful conclusion types. Like the attention-getting devices they may be used singly or in combinations, and should appeal emotionally to the audience.
Summary Summary conclusions restate the major ideas of the speech. Often they repeat the main points. This type of conclusion is useful for all types of audiences. Here are two examples of summary conclusions.
So, when you write your first speech, keep the steps of extemporaneous delivery in mind. First, gather your material. Then, write the speech in outline form. Practice the speech aloud at home, and finally deliver the speech conversationally.
or,
In summation, four major factors led to the Confederate loss of the Civil War: first, the lack of Southern industry and railroads: second, the inability of individual Confederate states to cooperate; third, the lack of Southern manpower and, finally, the neutrality of Great Britain.
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Challenge Challenge conclusions dare the audience to do something as a result of the speech. Challenge conclusions are primarily used with friendly audiences who are sufficiently motivated to take action. Here are two challenge conclusions.
Write Congressman Johnson at the address I've given you and urge her to support this vital health-care reform legislation.
or,
Buy American-made goods. The job you’re saving could be your own.
Quotations, Illustrations, and Rhetorical Questions Just as each of these devices can begin a speech, they're also useful for concluding a speech. In addition to using them individually, consider using them along with summaries and challenges since these three devices have more emotional appeal.
Chapter Summary
All three parts of a speech, the introduction, the body, and the conclusion, play important roles in achieving your Specific Purpose. Perhaps the simplest, most accurate way their functions have been described is in every speech you:
Say what you’re going to say in the introduction. Say it in the body.
Say what you said in the conclusion.
Use every part of your speech. Use your introduction to get the audience’s attention, establish your ethos and prepare the audience for the speech body. Use the five audience-preparation devices when the need arises. Your speech message is presented in the body, and your conclusion gives your audience a sense of completeness by reviewing the speech's main ideas and possibly encouraging them to take action.
The choices are yours. It’s up to you to write a speech with an introduction, a body, and a conclusion that work effectively for your topic and your audience.
Introductions and Conclusions are covered by the Midterm “You Ought to Know by Now” Review Questions #169-199 in the Using Your Speech Power! workbook.
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A Passing Thought The person who speaks the truth is always at ease.
Persian Proverb
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Chapter 7 Preview Page
Communicating Effectively
“Violence is essentially wordless, and it can begin only where thought and rational communication have broken down.”
Thomas Merton (1915-1968) American clergyman and author
Chapter Goals
1. To understand the three human communication types
2. To understand the human communication process
3. To apply communication knowledge and become better communicators
Terms to Know
Sender Channel Interpersonal Comm. Receiver Frame of reference Intrapersonal Comm. Message Encoding Five senses Verbal hints Decoding Feedback Nonverbal hints Mass Communication Inflection
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Effective Human Communication
Your thoughts are locked inside your brain. You have no way of getting them out. You’re friendless. You’re not married or in love because you can’t get to know the qualities that would make you love others or share the qualities that would make them love you. You’re alone, even if you’re surrounded by people. That’s how the world would be without human communication. Fortunately, people communicate. They can’t help themselves. It’s impossible for people to stop communicating. Here’s how the human communication process works.
Explaining The Human Communication Process So, now that you’ve been doing it your entire life, what is human communication? In this case I’d like to answer my own question.
Human Communication Defined Human communication is the process of a sender/receiver; using his/her frame of reference to encode a message made up of mutually meaningful verbal and nonverbal coded hints that travel across a channel. These hints are decoded by another sender/receiver using his or her frame of reference who responds immediately.
Impressive, huh? Let’s discuss the human communication elements one at a time beginning with the word “process”. Webster’s New World Dictionary defines a “process” as, “a continuing development involving many changes...a particular method of doing something, generally involving a number of steps or operations.” That’s a good description of communication. It’s something we’re in the middle of. Human communication was happening long before we were born, and it will still be happening long after we’re dead. The communication process involves a number of steps to accomplish one goal: moving an idea from the mind of one person to the mind of another person intact. It’s a process that doesn’t always work, but when it does here’s what happens.
How a Human Message Gets From Here to There Sender/Receivers All communication begins somewhere and goes somewhere else. The sender begins the communication process by deciding s/he wants to share an idea. The sender is the communication’s source. The sender decides s/he has something to communicate and begins the process. The sender should assume 100% responsibility for getting the message’s correct meaning to receiver because communicating the message is the sender’s need. The receiver is the communication’s destination. The communication is directed towards the receiver. While it’s convenient to speak of a sender and a receiver, in the real world you function as a sender/receiver. You simultaneously give and get information when you’re communicating. While the sender transmits his message, he also receives the message he sent, makes certain it’s what he meant to communicate, and receives a response from the receiver. When the original receiver responds to the message, she becomes a sender.
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Frame of Reference is YOU in the word’s highest sense. Your frame of reference is comprised of your heredity (genetics) and environment (every life experience you’ve had). People aren’t static creatures. They’re continuously changing as a result of everyday experiences. The person you are determines what’s important to you, and how you communicate. People communicate about things that are important to them, and because people are genetically different and come from different environments different people communicate differently about different things. Your frame of reference decides when you’ll communicate, how you’ll put the message together and how you’ll respond. I once read your eyes send five billion bits of information to your brain every second, with a bit being any question answerable with a “yes” or a “no”. In the same second your brain can process five hundred bits. What decides what will be the 1,000,000th of 1% your brain takes in? Your frame of reference. You’ll see what’s important to you. You’ll see what reinforces your world view. The communication process begins when the sender decides to share an idea. The sender’s frame of reference determines what the sender thinks is important enough to communicate and how the message will be constructed. From the receiver’s point of view, the frame of reference decides whether or not the receiver will join in the communication process. If the receiver does participate, the frame of reference is responsible for interpreting the sender’s message and formulating a response. People communicate through common areas in their frames of reference. If a spoken language is being used, both the sender and receiver must understand its meaning. They must also communicate about subjects they have in common. This is why it’s necessary to present background information and use analogies for an uninformed audience. Let’s try an information transmission experiment. Think about the person you love most. Now, tell someone about him/her without writing, gesturing, posturing, making faces, or noises. You have a problem. You’ve got the information. Your frame of reference has decided the information is worth communicating, but there’s no way to get the information out of your head. You can’t send your thoughts to another person. For communication to occur you must change those thoughts into a form that can travel to others. That’s the next step in the communication process.
Encoding People aren’t telepathic. Our thoughts can’t escape our brains. Encoding provides the escape route for our thoughts. Encoding is the act of turning a thought into a form that can travel to another person. The sender encodes thoughts into gestures, facial expressions, inflection, words, etc., perceivable by at least one of the five senses. In a way, human communication is a big guessing game. Since you can’t send your thoughts you send hints to the receiver about what you’re thinking. If you send good hints and the receiver makes good guesses, communication occurs.
Decoding The receiver initiates the decoding process when his/her senses encounter the sender’s message. The receiver must turn each sign and symbol in the sender’s message back into a thought. For instance, the symbols “d-e-s-k” would have no meaning except we’ve agreed whenever we see the signs and symbols called the English alphabet arranged in this particular order we’ll think of a table with drawers at which people sit and work.
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Let’s try some encoding and decoding. I’ll encode some hints about what I’m thinking. You decode the hints and try to arrive at the same thought I have. Here we go. Turn this code into a thought: “tree”. Have you got an image of my thought? Are you sure? That’s not a very good hint since there are many types of trees. I’ll do better. I’m thinking of a “pine tree”. As a matter of fact, I’m thinking of a “hundred- foot tall pine tree in a forest,” and oh, yes, my “hundred-foot tall pine tree in a forest is dead.” Did you find the image in your mind changing as I gave you better hints? This shows how decoding works. It also shows communication is never a sure thing. Things often go wrong when we’re communicating. The sender must create a message using the best possible hints if the receiver is to have any chance of interpreting them correctly.
Message The message is the information the sender wants to impart to the receiver. People receive information through their five senses. The message’s information is carried by two types of hints: verbal and nonverbal.
Verbal Hints The message’s verbal hints consist of the literal meaning of any words used. About 7% of human communication relies on verbal hints. Long ago people discovered they could make noises by forcing air out through their mouths and changing the position of their tongues. Every word the sender uses is a verbal hint and has a meaning. However, the words may not have the same meaning for the receiver. Nonverbal hints are sent with the verbal hints to help the receiver correctly decode the sender’s message.
Nonverbal Hints The second of the two message hints, nonverbal hints, are anything else adding meaning to the message beyond the verbal hints. About 93% of human communication relies on nonverbal hints. Bodily, you express nonverbal hints through hand gestures, body posture, facial expressions, touching and smell. Vocally, nonverbal communication consists of a person’s inflection, or tone of voice. The meaning of a message changes depending on whether the sender’s tone of voice sounds sarcastic, happy, sad, angry or serious. Nonverbal communication can exist without verbal communication. Even though a sender may be talking and a receiver only listening, the receiver is responding nonverbally to the sender’s message by using facial expressions and body postures.
Channel is the physical pathway the message travels between the sender and receiver. You hear messages through the air vibration channel. You see messages through the light reflection channel. The channel is physically how the message is carried from the sender to the receiver. It isn’t the message itself or the message’s meaning. For example, you’re reading this through the light reflection channel. Take away the channel by turning off the light, and no communication will occur. If there’s too much extraneous noise the air vibration channel may become unusable, and no communication will occur.
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Human Communication Types
People engage in three different communication types: intrapersonal, interpersonal and mass communication. The number of people involved determines the communication type.
Intrapersonal Communication is a completely internal form of communication taking place inside your body. Your body began intrapersonally communicating sometime after conception and has been intrapersonally communicating nonstop, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week ever since. Even when you’re asleep your body intrapersonally communicates. In fact, you’re doing it right now. Intrapersonal communication includes involuntary reactions, such as heart beat and breathing, pain and thought. When your body stops intrapersonally communicating it will mean you’re dead. Mass and interpersonal communication are dependent on the thoughts generated by the intrapersonal system.
Interpersonal Communication is small group communication occurring between two to seven people. A dyad, a term meaning two people, is the smallest number of people needed for interpersonal communication because you must have a sender and a receiver. Interpersonal communication allows for an informal, fast-flowing exchange of ideas.
Mass Communication refers to large group communication. Eight or more people participate in mass communication. Typically, mass communication features a primary sender communicating with a large group of people who are primarily receivers. Giving speeches, television, radio and newspapers are examples of mass communication. Due to the large numbers of people involved, mass communication is a slower-moving, more structured communication form. For example, people raise their hands if they have questions and take turns speaking during mass communication.
Five Undeniable Truths About Human Communication 1. Human Communication is a continuous process. Human communication has been happening as long as there have been humans. It predates spoken languages. It’s non-stop and unstoppable. People cannot not communicate. Even if a person isn’t talking, s/he is sending information nonverbally using facial expressions, body postures, etc.
2. Human communication is a two-way process. Human communication needs a starting point and a destination. In the case of intrapersonal communication, the source and the destination of the communication are inside of your body. You must have at least two people for interpersonal communication. Human communication demands a response. Even if the receiver doesn’t offer a vocal response, the receiver will react to the message s/he received. Talking, remaining silent, or walking away are all reactions.
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3. Human communication requires active participation. The sender actively decides s/he has information worth sharing and encodes a message. The receiver must choose to participate if communication is to occur. Whether or not the receiver chooses to participate depends on his/her frame of reference.
4. Human communication is an irreversible process. Although people say, “I take that back,” it doesn’t work when it comes to human communication. Once a message is sent and received there’s no way to recall or change it because it becomes a permanent part of the receiver’s frame of reference. So, give careful consideration to the messages you send.
5. Human communication is a complex process. People think thoughts but can’t send their thoughts to others; so the communication process acts as a crutch. It turns thoughts into forms capable of traveling to other people. As I said before, since you can’t send your thoughts you send hints about what you’re thinking. The sender gives hints. The receiver makes guesses. That, in a nutshell, is human communication.
A Human Communication Model A diagram of the human communication process would look something like this.
Each person in the model can send and receive messages. Both people are capable of encoding and decoding.
The two frames of reference are partially overlapped because people must have some common ground for communication to occur. They must share some experiences. No two people’s frames of reference totally overlap because no two people have exactly the same genetic background and experiences. Identical twins may be the same genetically, but they don’t share all of the same experiences. Even if they’re standing next to each other, they will perceive events slightly differently.
The path taken by the message is indicated by arrows, and the message is made up of verbal and nonverbal hints traveling over a channel.
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Chapter Summary Communication is a responsibility. All parties involved must be committed to achieving successful communication. Because the communication process is complex, things go wrong. In a sense, communication is a highly organized guessing game. The more dedicated you are to the communication process the more educated your guesses will be and the more effective you’ll be as a communicator.
The communication process begins when a sender encodes a thought into a form that can travel. The information sent by the sender is called a message, and it consists of verbal and nonverbal hints. Verbal hints are the literal meanings of any spoken word used, and nonverbal hints are any other clues regarding the message’s meaning. Examples of nonverbal communication include facial expressions, body postures, hand gestures, inflections, touches and smells. The receiver decodes the message, that is turns the message back into a thought, and interprets it. The channel serves as the pathway the message takes from the sender to the receiver. All human information is acquired through five senses: sight, hearing, tasting, touch and smell.
People have frames of reference. The frame of reference is a person’s genetic make up and his/her environment. From the sender’s point of view, the frame of reference determines what the sender will communicate and how s/he will construct the message. The receiver’s frame of reference determines whether the receiver will join the communication experience and how s/he will interpret the message.
Finally, there are three types of human communication. Intrapersonal communication occurs completely within your own body and includes thought, pain and involuntary reactions. Interpersonal communication is small group communication between two to seven people, and mass communication is large group communication involving eight or more people.
Communication is covered by the Final Exam "You Ought to Know by Now" Review Questions #1-39 in the Using Your Speech Power! workbook.
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A Passing Thought
The person who influences the thought of her/his times, influences all the times that follow.
That person has had her/his impress on eternity.
Hypatia (c.370-415 A.D.) Alexandrian philosopher
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Chapter 8 Preview Page
Perusing Persuasion “The object of oratory alone is not truth, but persuasion.” Lord Macaulay (1800-1859) English historian and statesman
Chapter Goals 1. To understand all human communication is persuasive 2. To understand the difference between coercion and persuasion 3. To understand the role persuasion plays in human communication 4. To learn the definition of an attitude 5. To understand how attitudes are created, how they function and how they can be changed 6. To understand how establishing a common ground effects the attitudes of a hostile audience 7. To understand how motivational appeals are used to change attitudes 8. To learn to recognize and use fifteen basic motivational appeals 9. To learn to apply persuasive speech audience strategies
Terms to Know Coercion Pleasure Destructiveness Persuasion Sympathy & Generosity Adventure Attitudes Conformity Revulsion Frame of reference Independence Curiosity Motivational Appeal Loyalty Friendly Audience Fear Being Best Neutral Audience Acquisition and Savings Resp. High. Authority Hostile Audience Sexual Attraction Respect for Yourself
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Perusing Persuasion
It’s time you knew the truth about yourself. You're a persuasive animal. You’ve never communicated without attempting to persuade another person. You’re not alone. To varying degrees all human communication is persuasive. Informative and entertainment speeches have persuasive elements. Speech introductions persuade audiences to listen. Developing a strong ethos means persuading an audience you're trustworthy and believable. Saying “Hi!” to someone carries the persuasive message, “I’m a friendly person. You should like me.” Since the dawn of humanity one goal of every human communication has been convincing others to change.
The Two Ways of Getting People to Do What You Want Them to Do
There are only two ways to get humans to change; coercion and persuasion. Coercion uses force. You change because I put a figurative or literal “gun to your head.” I force you to change by threatening you with serious consequences if you don’t change. Coercion’s weakness is it meets resistance, and if the coercive element is removed people revert to their old behaviors. Persuasion involves convincing someone s/he wants to change. The change is self-motivated. They don’t need to be watched. Traffic laws and their enforcement provide an excellent example of the difference between changing behavior by coercive and persuasive means. Most drivers are coerced into driving 55 miles per hour on expressways. If a police officer isn’t physically present providing coercive force, the average speed quickly rises to 70 miles per hour. On the other hand, most people are persuaded they should stop at red stop lights. Because drivers are self- motivated to stop at red lights, you don’t need police officers on every corner to ensure compliance.
I’ve already defined persuasion as using subjective facts to make another person’s opinion align more closely with your own. Now, I’d like to discuss how the persuasive process works and what happens to someone who’s being persuaded. It all begins with attitudes.
How Attitudes Are Born, Live and Sometimes Die
Attitudes are mental states of readiness. They are pre-conceived reactions allowing people to respond to new situations. Attitudes are learned responses based on past experiences. People’s past experiences, attitudes and future behavior are related in a circular fashion.
1. Past experiences create attitudes.
2. Attitudes determine future behavior.
3. As time passes, future behaviors become past experiences either creating new attitudes or reinforcing old attitudes.
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An attitude lies dormant until it’s triggered by an outside link. A link is the proper name for a connection between two attitudes. Then the attitude provides a response. For example, let’s say I show you my bright, shiny, new Saturn car. You’ve never seen a Saturn, so you have no Saturn attitude. You see my Saturn’s comfortable seating, keyless entry, good gas mileage and reasonable sticker price. You’re impressed! As a result of these past experiences you create a Saturn attitude, “I like Saturn cars.” Your Saturn attitude remains dormant in your brain until it’s triggered by an outside force, possibly when you need a new car. Then, your “I like Saturn cars” attitude reacts and causes your future behavior. You’ll go to a Saturn dealer. Everything else being equal, you’ll probably buy a Saturn. If you have good experiences with your new Saturn, your “I like Saturn cars” attitude will be re-enforced. If you have bad experiences with your new car, your Saturn attitude will change to “I don’t like Saturn cars.” Either way, your attitude will have you ready to react when the time comes to buy your next new car.
If you could see a person’s attitudes they’d look like this:
The drawing depicts a graduated scale. Completely rejected attitudes are on the far left. As you travel toward the right you encounter decreasing rejection, a point of absolute uncertainty and gradually increasing acceptance. Complete, unquestioning acceptance occurs on the drawing’s far right side. Each dot is an attitude. The closer an attitude is to the uncertainty line the weaker and easier to change it is. There are less dots on either end of the scale because people hold fewer strong attitudes. However, stronger attitudes are more influential and harder to change. Some attitudes are connected. People mentally link associated concepts. The exact “location” of your attitudes determines how you react to the world. Your attitudes are your “frame of reference.” They are “You”.
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Persuading People by Using Their Own Attitudes
To look at it another way, an attitude is an existing opinion. To change an opinion it’s necessary to create a link between a favorably-held attitude in the person’s mind and the attitude you want adopted. Any time an attitude link is created, two things occur:
1. The existing attitude resists changing. People don’t like to change their opinions. The stronger an attitude is (the closer to either end of the previous drawing), the more it resists changing.
2. The new attitude is classified in the same way as the existing attitude. Figuratively speaking, the existing attitude “pulls” the new attitude towards it for classification. Linked attitudes are always classified in the same way. People like their attitudes classified consistently.
That’s what happens when you establish a common ground with a hostile audience in a persuasive speech introduction.
Establishing a Common Ground with a Hostile Audience
Viewed from the previous drawing’s perspective, a hostile audience member’s attitude about your speech topic is on the frame of reference’s “dislike” side. If you begin your speech with a direct statement of the topic introduction, you’ll create a link between the audience member’s hostile attitude and your topic. As a result, the audience member will resist changing his/her hostile attitude and will classify the new attitude (your topic) consistently with his/her existing attitudes. You and your speech will be rejected. That’s why it’s necessary to establish a common ground. When you establish a common ground, you link your speech topic to an existing attitude from the “strong like” side of your hostile audience’s frames of reference. Now the audience will initially give you a positive classification.
Let’s look at a hypothetical case. Suppose you’re giving a speech to an audience who opposes gun control in any form. Your speech favors some gun control. Your audience will be hostile. Their attitudes toward gun control would be on the “strong dislike” side of their frames of reference. If you begin your speech by saying, “Everyone should turn in their handguns”, you’ll be linking your speech to their hostile attitude. This attitude will resist changing and will pull any newly-linked attitude toward it for purposes of classification. Your speech will be rejected. On the other hand, by establishing a common ground, finding something you and your audience ethically agree on (an attitude you each hold on the “strong like” side of your frames of reference), such as “We need to get guns out of the hands of criminals to keep our streets safe”, your speech will initially be accepted. You want to avoid saying anything about honest citizens turning in their handguns because that will trigger the audience’s strongly hostile attitudes and cause them to reject your speech message.
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One strategy for speaking to hostile audiences is not mentioning your disagreement. Reminding your audience you disagree creates a link between your speech and their hostile attitude.
Let’s take this one step further. The process allowing you to establish a common ground is the same process causing people to change their opinions during a persuasive speech.
You affect the audience members' opinions by creating links between the attitudes you want them to adopt and existing attitudes on the “strong like” sides of their frames of reference. If you can create the links, your audience will be persuaded.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a list of attitudes located on the “strong like” side of your audience’s frame of reference? You could easily choose strong existing attitudes and create links with your topic. Good news!! Such lists exist. They are lists of motivational, or motive, appeals.
Using Motivational Appeals to Change Opinions
Motivational appeals provide the motivation or emotional reason for a person to change his/her mind. Motivational appeals are universally accepted ideas guaranteed to be on the “like” side of everyone’s frame of reference.
Here’s a list of motivational appeals. Since no two people are exactly alike, the same motivational appeal may be very strong in one person and weaker in another. However, everyone has all of the motivational appeals, yourself included. I’ll give examples of how motivational appeals may have caused you to change your behavior. By the way, having your behavior changed by a motivational appeal isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s a good idea to have a smoke detector in your house, for example. However, someone in your family was almost certainly convinced to buy the smoke detector as the result of a fear appeal.
Fear Self-preservation is one of humankind’s most basic instincts, so fear is among the strongest motivational appeals. Fear appeals scare people into action by threatening consequences if no action is taken. Fear appeals include buying a smoke or carbon monoxide detector for your home, wearing a seat belt, buying a car with a child safety seat, studying harder for a test because your teacher told you last term half the class flunked the test and filling in your income tax forms honestly for fear of an audit. You’ll drive the speed limit when you see a police officer for fear of getting a ticket.
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Acquisition and Acquisition and savings says, “it’s good to get things.” Savings Frequently, acquisition and savings appeals promise something for nothing. Buying something “on sale”, buying a store brand because it’s cheaper than a name brand and buying “three for a quarter” when you only need one all promise something for nothing. You may have a hobby like collecting plates or baseball cards, or own a small car that saves gas. Parents open bank accounts for their children before the children are old enough to know about money.
Sexual Attraction Everyone dresses up for the “big date”. Women wear makeup and perfume. Men splash on after-shave or cologne. We don’t do these things to stay alive. We do them to become more sexually appealing.
Pleasure Pleasure is the “do it because it feels good” motivational appeal. Spending money on vacations or hobbies, owning a Cadillac instead of a Chevy and flying first class instead of coach would be results of pleasure appeals. Scalpers rely on your pleasure appeal to sell you expensive tickets for sporting, concert or theatre events.
Sympathy and Sympathy and generosity motivational appeals involve helping Generosity someone without benefit to ourselves beyond the good feeling that comes from helping. Donating money, food or clothing to charity are examples of this motivational appeal.
Conformity Conformity motivational appeals urge your to “follow the crowd.” Dressing in the latest fashions, especially among your peers, following in your father’s or mother’s footsteps and using the latest jargon would all be results of conformity appeals. We feel group acceptance by being part of a tradition.
Independence Independence is the exact opposite of conformity. The independence appeal encourages people to “march to the beat of a different drummer” and “do their own thing.” Independence appeals include renting your own apartment or owning your own house, buying a car for the freedom it gives you to go anywhere at any time and wanting to be your own boss. Parents and teenagers have discussions about the proper time to be home at night. Usually this is the parent’s conformity appeal conflicting with a teenager’s independence appeal.
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Loyalty Standing by a friend or family member who’s having problems, donating money to your alma mater and always buying the same brand names are results of loyalty appeals. If you ever doubt the power of motivational appeals, remember loyalty to your country is called patriotism. Consider how many people have died in wars out of loyalty to their country.
Being Best Yelling “We’re #1!!” Rooting for the champion sports team and buying the best-selling product are results of a being best motivational appeal. Everybody loves a winner.
Respect for Higher Buying products endorsed by a famous person, calling your Authority teacher or boss “Mr.” or Mrs.” and referring to your elders or customers a “Sir” or "Ma’am” would result from a Respect for Higher Authority appeal.
Respect for Yourself Setting personal or job-related goals for yourself or living up to a code of conduct or ethical standards could result from a Respect for Yourself appeal.
Destructiveness This is a two part motivational appeal. Destructiveness appeals (1.) establish an evil an (2.) encourage people to destroy it. Smoky the Bear urged people to “Stamp out forest fires.” Using acne medicine to “wipe out” acne bacteria and “Taking a bite out of crime” are also destructiveness appeals. Forest fires, acne and crime are evil. They deserve destruction.
Adventure Driving your car 140 mph on the expressway, trying bungee jumping, mountain climbing, hang gliding or “ditching” school even though you knew you’d get caught result from an adventure motivational appeal.
Revulsion This is the normal reaction to child abuse, sexual abuse, drunk drivers and vandals.
Curiosity Buying products described as “new”, “improved” or “different” are examples of curiosity appeals. Even if you didn’t like the product before, you can buy it again because it’s “new”, “improved” or “different”.
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Speaking Strategies for Friendly, Neutral and Hostile Audiences
Previously, I said persuasive speech audiences are classified as friendly (if they agree with you), neutral (if they have no opinion), or hostile (if they disagree with you). There are also varying degrees of each type of audience. One audience may be more hostile than another. You’d approach each audience differently.
Here are some suggestions for customizing your persuasive speech to suit each audience type.
Friendly Audience 1. Get to the point. They already agree, so state your persuasive message immediately and obviously. You may want to use a direct statement of the topic introduction.
2. Identify yourself with the audience. Be sure the audience understands you agree with them. With a friendly audience it isn’t “you” and “I”, it’s “we” and “us”. We’re all alike. We’re in the same boat. We need to do something.
3. Use strong language and motivational appeals. Make blatant links between your speech arguments and the audience’s motivational appeals. This reinforces attitudes your audience already holds.
4. Get the audience to take action. Since a friendly audience is already convinced, you can take time to suggest a specific course of action for them to follow. A challenge conclusion dares the audience to do something and could be used with a friendly audience. Be specific about the action you want them to take. If you want them to write a letter give the address.
5. Make use of the general sense of excitement and agreement. Excitement is infectious, and audience members reinforce each other’s enthusiasm. A speaker often becomes a cheerleader with a friendly audience.
Neutral Audience 1. Use a good attention-getting introduction device. Since the audience has non- existent or ambivalent feelings toward your topic, use a strong attention-getting introduction device. They must be convinced of the importance of listening.
2. Establish the topic's importance in the introduction. This strategy compensates for audiences who have no opinion about the topic because they lack topic knowledge. Be sure the audience sees how this topic affects them. Make the issue relevant to the audience.
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3. Present background information. Since the audience has a limited acquaintance with your topic, you may need to define jargon or present the topic’s history.
4. Use motivational appeals. A neutral audience has weak or nonexistent attitudes about your topic. The have strong motivational appeals. They may be persuaded if you can connect the attitudes you want them to adopt to their existing motivational appeals. Carefully consider the links you can establish with “strong like” attitudes in the audience’s frame of reference.
Hostile Audience 1. Use your introduction to establish a common ground and develop a favorable ethos. It’s essential the audience perceives you as trustworthy, intelligent and concerned about the topic. Even if they disagree, they must acknowledge you presented your case well. You must establish a common ground to get the audience’s attention without alienating them.
2. Avoid reminding the audience you disagree. Reminding them you think they’re wrong only makes them more hostile. It also creates a link between your speech and an attitude on the “dislike” side of their frames of reference.
3. Present opposing viewpoints to your own. Sounds like an informative speech, doesn’t it? Since your audience is already familiar with the opposing arguments you’re not hurting your case as much as you’re showing you’re knowledgeable about the topic. You want to present the image of someone presenting “an unbiased discussion of options” rather than someone persuading them to “see the light” and abandon their foolish viewpoint. Never directly challenge a hostile audience. They may perceive your challenge as being insulting and respond by becoming more hostile.
4. Don’t try to accomplish too much. Be realistic in your expectations. These people disagree with you. No matter how eloquently you speak it’s unlikely you’ll get them to change their opinions. Your goal may be to have your audience listen.
Plan a careful strategy for every type of audience. These suggestions will help you tailor your speech for each individual audience.
Perusing Persuasion is covered by the Final Exam "You Ought to Know by Now" Review Questions #40-88 in the Using Your Speech Power! workbook.
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A Passing Thought When spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion.
Ethiopian Proverb
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Chapter 9 Preview Page Communicating in a Group Discussion “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead (1901-1978) American anthropologist
Chapter Goals 1. To understand techniques for reaching a consensus 2. To understand group discussion energy types 3. To understand group discussion roles and when they should be played 4. To recognize group discussion roles played by others 5. To learn the definitions for four basic group discussion formats 6. To understand a problem/solving group discussion format 7. To experience and understand the value of brainstorming
Terms to Know Consensus Encourager Panel discussion Task energy Compromiser Symposium Maintenance energy Harmonizer Problem-Solving Groups self-centered energy Gate-keeper Define the Problem Task roles Self-centered roles Open-ended question Initiator Dominator Impartial Opinion Seeker Blocker Describe the Problem Information Seeker Special Interest Pleader Est. Solution's Criteria Information Giver Digresser Present All Possible Sol. Opinion Giver Withdrawer Brainstorming Elaborator Non-contributor Implement the Solution Summarizer Comedian Evaluate After Time Coordinator Group Disc. Formats Synergy Recorder Round table Maintenance roles Lecture-forum
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Communicating in a Group Discussion
You can’t avoid groups. Groups make decisions and solve problems throughout society. They’re found everywhere from politics to business to schools. A group’s success or failure isn’t a matter of chance. You’ll dramatically increase the chances of any group’s success by learning about the group discussion process. Let’s begin with some group discussion truisms.
1. The group’s needs must take priority over the needs of individual members for a group to function successfully. The group must function as a unit.
2. Groups should try to reach a consensus. The worst way of ending a group discussion is by “voting on it” because group members have disagreements. Being outvoted leaves minority group members feeling their opinions didn’t matter. Discuss the disagreements, compromise, synergize and try to reach an acceptable solution for everyone.
3. Groups are established to do work, and working means investing time and energy. Group discussion energy is expended three ways.
Types of Energy in Group Discussions Task Energy-Groups are convened to achieve specific objectives. Task energy is devoted to accomplishing the group’s goal.
Maintenance Energy-Groups function more efficiently when everyone gets along well. Maintenance energy supports good interpersonal working relationships between group members.
Self-Centered Energy-This type of disruptive energy occurs whenever an individual makes his/her own gratification more important than accomplishing the group’s goal. It should be avoided.
Roles Played by Group Members It’s important to recognize and understand the roles played during a group discussion. By recognizing and understanding the group discussion roles being played you’ll also know what roles need to be played to help the group achieve a consensus. The roles played by group members are categorized according to the type of energy being expended. A single member plays many different roles during the course of a group discussion. It’s possible to change rolls during a sentence. Here are some common roles played by members of a group.
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Task Roles (Roles assumed by group members to accomplish the group’s goal)
1. Initiator offers new ideas, suggestions and proposals to the group concerning discussion rules or ways of accomplishing the group’s task. The initiator us usually the first group discussion role played. 2. Opinion seeker sounds out other group members requesting their reactions to ideas under discussion. 3. Information seeker asks for factual clarification about complex aspects of the topic. 4. Information giver provides content for the group discussion by supplying factual material. Often the information giver is the group expert. Some groups employ one person solely to play the role of information giver at their discussions. Lawyers, for example, frequently fill this role at governmental meetings, advising the participants about the legality of their proposals. 5. Opinion giver reacts by giving his/her personal opinion to new proposals. Opinion givers and information givers provide the raw material for the group discussion process. Group members giving opinions and information takes up to fifty per cent of a discussion group’s time. 6. Elaborator further develops ideas under discussion by hypothetically explaining how a suggestion might work if it were tried, clarifying suggestions and developing rationales for suggestions. 7. Summarizer periodically reviews significant points making up the group’s current position and plots the direction of subsequent discussion. By reviewing what the group has done, the summarizer shows the group members where they are and where they are going. The summarizer may also ask if the group is ready to make a decision. 8. Coordinator engages in synergy. They combine ideas from different group members into a new, more workable idea that is better than either original idea. Along with the elaborator, the coordinator becomes active during brainstorming sessions. 9. Recorder functions as the “group’s memory” by serving as secretary and taking notes.
Maintenance Roles (Roles assumed by group members to help the group’s emotional well-being)
1. Encourager praises and supports the ideas of others thereby rewarding continued active participation by each group member. Even if you don’t like the entire idea you can encourage participation by mentioning the parts you do like before offering your concerns or suggestions. Frequently, after a successful meeting, the group leader ends the session by playing the role of encourager and congratulating every one on a job well done.
2. Compromiser gives ground to accommodate another group member with a different opinion in the hope of finding an area of agreement. The compromiser realizes as long as s/he is involved in a disagreement the group will never reach a consensus. The compromiser
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puts the needs of the group ahead of his/her own needs to achieve a common ground for consensus. 3. Harmonizer attempts to smooth out tensions and disagreements between group members. While the compromiser is one of the individuals involved in the disagreement, the harmonizer smoothes out disagreements between other members. Harmonizers serve as mediators who reconcile conflicts and reduce tensions in the group, often by using humor. 4. Gate-keeper controls the flow of the communication keeping the group on track and every member involved in the discussion. The gate-keeper will attempt to increase the involvement of passive members and bring group members who have wandered off the subject back on track.
Self-Centered Roles (Roles assumed by group members that hinder the group)
1. Dominator tries to replace the group’s authority with his/her personal authority. The dominator is a power-seeker who wants to make decisions unilaterally, monopolize the group’s time and limit the participation of others. So, how do you deal with a dominator? I’d suggest checking with other group members between meetings to see if they agree a certain person is dominating. If they do, wait until the dominator begins dominating at the next meeting, smile (to show you’re friendly), and tell the dominator s/he has been doing a lot of the work and you’d like a chance to participate too. Ask other members if they would like the chance to do more. Your goal is to make the dominator realize s/he is dominating and force him/her to relinquish some power. 2. Blocker inhibits the group from taking any action by unreasonably entrenching and opposing other people’s ideas. The blocker may continue to re-introduce ideas the group has previously rejected. You should try being a compromiser with a blocker. If this fails survey the group, show the blocker s/he is in the minority and try compromising again. If the blocker won’t compromise you’ll need to call for a vote. While voting is undesirable it’s better than allowing the group to become hopelessly mired. Frequently, though, a blocker, faced with the fact s/he is about to be outvoted and lose everything, will become amenable to a compromise. If not, you’ll have to vote. You’ll have a problem with your blocker. You should try to smooth things over before the next meeting. 3. Special interest pleader is a person with a hidden agenda who sees him/herself as a “white knight” championing an absent group’s interests. The special interest pleader puts the present group’s goal in a secondary position. S/he believes it is more important to represent the absent group. If you suspect someone of special interest pleading, politely force him/her to logically explain his/her positions. The special interest pleader’s actions should appear illogical when compared with the group’s goal. 4. Digresser introduces irrelevant material getting the group off the discussion subject. Digressers are more interested in having a pleasant conversation than in accomplishing the group’s goal. Sometimes digressers unconsciously take the group off the subject. You need to gate keep a digresser. You can politely get a digresser back on the subject by asking the last person who made a good point to repeat him/herself. This ensures the next comment will
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be on the subject and invites the digresser to listen. If the digresser doesn’t take the hint, call the digresser’s attention to the really good point that’s being made. 5. Withdrawer either was never interested in the discussion topic or backs away from the discussion process because s/he is unhappy about the group’s direction. The group may have rejected an idea suggested by the withdrawer, for example. Withdrawers are condescending and make a point of stressing their lack of interest in the group and the group’s members. They’re a distraction for group members trying to accomplish the group’s goal. 6. Non-contributor does not participate in the discussion process. S/he is deadweight providing no input at all. Unlike the withdrawer, who actively works to hinder the group, a non-contributor may simply be shy, insecure or uncomfortable speaking before other people. Gate keep the non-contributor. Ask his/her opinion. If the non-contributor says something reasonably intelligent, play the role of encourager. You want make the non-contributor feel comfortable communicating with the group. 7. Comedian makes irrelevant jokes denigrating the group’s purpose while trying to become the center of attention. The entire group needs to gate keep the comedian. As long as one person continues to be the comedian’s audience the comedian can continue his/her performance.
When you’re a group member it’s important to remember the group’s needs outweigh the needs of any individual group member, including yourself. Avoid self-centered roles. By identifying and filling the various task and maintenance roles required within your group you enhance the chances of your group’s success.
Group Discussion Formats Discussion groups are structured differently depending on the group’s purpose. We’ll look at four group discussion formats: round table, lecture-forum, panel discussion and symposium.
Round table Round table discussions are the most informal group discussion format and are conducted for the benefit of the group’s participants. Frequently there is no audience at a round table discussion. The group relies on a free-flowing exchange of ideas, instead of prepared speeches, to solve a problem or acquire information. Avoid having round table discussions with more than seven people since they fall into the mass communication category and inhibit the informal exchange of ideas. If a large number of people want to participate it’s more effective to divide them into smaller groups.
Lecture-Forum Lecture-forum discussions feature a single speaker delivering a prepared speech. The audience asks questions and makes comments after the speech. Since this is a mass communication situation, a moderator is often used to introduce the speaker and keep the audience response section of the program running smoothly.
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Panel discussion Panel discussions feature four to seven participants. A moderator usually leads the discussion and oversees the audience questions and comments segment. Slightly more formal than a round table discussion, panel discussions may have short prepared speeches but rely on informal exchanges between the panel members and between panel members and audience members. Panel discussions are more commonly used for problem-solving, but can be informative as well.
Symposium The symposium is the most formal group discussion format. Symposiums consist of four to seven experts making prepared speeches. Their speeches will either be about different aspects or differing views of one subject. Following the individual speeches the symposium participants discuss the topic amongst themselves and finally open up the discussion to audience questions and comments. Symposium discussions are held for the benefit of the audience and are more likely to be informative in nature. It’s important the prepared speeches take up less than half of the allotted program time to allow enough time for audience participation.
Problem-Solving Group Sequences Groups are often assembled to solve problems. Problem-solving sequences organize the group’s discussion and eliminate a “hit or miss” approach to solving the problem. Everyone in the group sees what they’re doing and what they’ll be doing next because each of them has an agenda. Several different sequences for problem-solving groups have been devised, but each of them essentially follows the same procedure once a problem has been identified.
1. Define the Problem You must to have a firm grip on exactly what problem you’re solving. If not, you could be overlooking part of the problem or trying to solve the wrong problem altogether. One famous example of a group trying to solve the wrong problem occurred in the American space program in the 1950’s. Scientists were stymied trying to solve this problem, “What material can be put on a space capsule that will survive re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere undamaged?” Although now the space shuttle routinely lands undamaged, the answer in the mid 1950’s was “no such material exists” until someone realized they were trying to solve the wrong problem. They didn’t need to find a material that would survive re-entry undamaged, they needed to find a material that would protect an astronaut in the capsule. Whether the material on the capsule’s outside was damaged was irrelevant. When they began to solve the right problem the space program moved forward. Early heat shields were always severely charred, but it didn’t matter, because the astronaut was safe. By the way, faced with the same problem the early Russian space program made its heat shields out of wood. Didn’t they burn? Yes, they did, but they were constructed of ground hard wood so while they charred they protected the cosmonaut inside every time.
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Phrasing the Question for a Problem-Solving Group Discussion By phrasing the problem as a question you invite answers. Write an open-ended question. Open-ended questions allow for a variety of responses because they can’t be answered by a “yes” or “no”. “Yes/no” questions limit the free flow of ideas and eliminate possible solutions. For example, “Should President Jones of this college be fired for his recent remarks?” This invites a one-word answer, either “yes” or “no”, and requires no further participation from the group. Even if you follow up with another question such as “Why should, or should not, the President be fired?” it has pushed the group toward one of two solutions “fire him” or “don’t fire him”. There are other possible solutions. Perhaps we may decide to suspend the President with or without pay for a certain period. Maybe we would write a letter for his permanent file. “Yes” or “no” questions work against the strength of the group discussion process, which is allowing a wide-open flow of ideas.
Phrase the question impartially. The question should be phrased objectively to avoid leading the group into one solution. For example, “What action should be taken against President Jones of this college for his recent irresponsible remarks.” This begs the question and tips the scales against an impartial hearing for President Jones. The question’s phrasing has already described the President’s remarks as being “irresponsible”. However, it’s up to the group to decide whether the remarks were irresponsible or not.
Phrase the question clearly. Use terminology that’s understood by everyone in the group. You’ll have to arrive at mutually agreeable definitions for complicated terms. For example, “How may we assure equal treatment for minorities entering industry?” is a vague question needing additional definition. First of all, what minority groups are we talking about? What industries are under discussion? At what level are the minorities trying to enter? What’s equal treatment? We’re better off with a question such as, “How may we assure equal treatment for women trying to reach command positions in Police Departments.” It will be necessary to define “equal treatment”, but this puts specific limits around the group discussion’s subject and ensures everyone in the group is discussing the same thing.
The question focuses on one issue. Just as speeches are only good for one major idea, group discussions are only designed to handle one major problem. Be sure the subject is broad enough to be researched and discussed but limited enough to be handled in the allotted time.
2. Describe the problem. Once you’ve determined a problem exists and phrased a group discussion question the next step is to describe the problem in detail. For example: What’s causing the problem? How serious is the problem?
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What are the effects of the problem? Who’s being affected?
3. Establish criteria for a solution. Now that you know what the problem is, you have to decide precisely what will solve the problem. Establishing a solution’s criteria sets a series of standards, a yardstick, against which possible solutions are judged. The solution’s criteria are different from the solution itself. The criteria describe what a successful solution will achieve. This allows the group to recognize a workable solution when they see it. Later, the group will discard solutions that don’t meet the criteria they’ve decided are necessary to solve the problem. If you’ve ever bought a house, for example, you set the solution’s criteria. You set them for your realtor. You told the realtor you wanted, “a two-story, brick house with four bedrooms, three bathrooms, an attached garage that cost about two hundred thousand dollars.” When your realtor found a house meeting those criteria s/he knew it was a workable solution for you. There’s a tendency for inexperienced group discussion participants to skip these first three steps and immediately suggest solutions. This is a haphazard approach relying on dumb luck rather than careful consideration to solve a problem and should be avoided. You’ll have a much easier time solving the problem if you have a thorough understanding of what’s necessary for the solution.
4. Present all possible solutions. This process is called brainstorming and is one time when quantity is superior to quality. Everyone contributes possible solutions no matter how unusual or bizarre they may appear. Brainstorming is a non-judgmental process. All solutions are accepted. No solution is rejected, and no one is criticized for any suggestion s/he makes. Brainstorming provides the grist for the mill from which our final solution will be ground. The more minds involved, creativity used, possibilities laid on the table, the less likely it is we’ll overlook any solution with merit.
5. Evaluate each solution individually. Evaluate every suggestion made during the brainstorming process to see how well it fulfills the solution criteria. Eliminate solutions failing to meet the criteria, combine similar solutions and you’re left with the solution with the greatest potential for solving the problem. The solution may be pieced together from several different brainstormed proposals and may have several different parts. Try to reach a unanimous decision about your solution. It’s more desirable to devise a solution that’s supported by all of the members. It may be necessary to compromise to acquire the entire group’s support. “Voting on it and majority rules” is the worst way of arriving at a solution especially if a sizable minority opposes the plan. Adopting a solution by means of a majority vote can leave the minority feeling alienated and cause difficulties when the solution is implemented.
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6. Create a plan for implementing the solution. Decide on the most efficient way of putting the solution into effect. Determine who’s going to do what and when.
7. Evaluate your solution’s results after time has passed. Did the solution solve the problem? If it did, great! If it almost did, you’ll have to do some minor tweaking. If it didn’t, you’ll have to go back to the drawing board and start over. You’ll be wiser as a result of your failure.
Communicating in a Group Discussion is covered by the Final Exam "You Ought to Know by Now" Review Questions #89-157 in the Using Your Speech Power! workbook.
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Index
A E Acquisition and Savings ...... 96, 101 Elaborator ...... 106, 108 Adventure ...... 96, 102 Encoding ...... 88, 90 After-dinner speech ...... 9 Encourager ...... 106, 108 Analogies ...... 52, 53, 59 Endnote ...... 52, 62 Articulation ...... 40 Entertainment ...... 9, 11, 12, 16, 38 Attention-getting devices ...... 76 Establishing a Common Ground ...... 76 Establishing Solution's Criteria ...... 106 Establishing Topic's Importance ...... 76 B Establish Your Expertise ...... 76 Background Information ...... 76, 82 Ethos ...... 40, 42, 76, 77 Being Best ...... 96, 102 Evaluate After Time ...... 106 Blocker ...... 106, 109 Evidence ...... 1, 52, 53, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 64 Body preparation devices ...... 76 Expanded Factual Example ...... 52 Brainstorming ...... 106, 113 Extemporaneous ...... 40, 41, 45 Eye contact ...... 40 C F Card Catalog ...... 52, 60 Causal order ...... 9, 25 Factual Example ...... 52, 53, 55 Challenge ...... 76, 86 Fear ...... 96, 100 Channel ...... 88, 91 Feedback ...... 88 Chronological order ...... 9, 18 Figurative Analogy ...... 52, 59 Coercion ...... 96, 97 Five senses ...... 88 Comedian ...... 106, 110 Focus Audience on Topic ...... 76 Comparative order ...... 9, 23 Frame of reference ...... 88, 96 Compromiser ...... 106, 108 Friendly audience ...... 76 Conformity ...... 96, 101 Friendly Audience ...... 96, 103 Consensus ...... 106 Fully support ...... 9 Coordinator ...... 7, 106, 108 Further support point ...... 29 Curiosity ...... 96, 102 G D Gate-keeper ...... 106, 109 Decoding ...... 88, 90 General Purpose ...... 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 27, 37, 38 Define the Problem ...... 106, 111 Gesture ...... 40, 43 Describe the Problem ...... 106 Group Discussion Formats ...... 106 Destructiveness ...... 96, 102 Dictionary...... 52, 60, 78, 89 H Digresser ...... 106, 109 Direct Statement of Topic ...... 76 Harmonizer ...... 106, 109 Distinctly different ...... 9 Highlighter ...... 3 Dominator ...... 106, 109 Hostile audience ...... 76 Hostile Audience ...... 96, 99, 104 Hypothetical Illustration ...... 52
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I P Illustration...... 55, 64, 76, 80 Panel discussion ...... 106, 111 Illustrations ...... 52, 53, 80, 86 Paraphrase ...... 52 Impartial ...... 106 Pause ...... 40 Implement the Solution ...... 106 Persuasion ...... 1, 11, 96, 97, 104 Impromptu delivery ...... 40, 41 Persuasive ...... 9, 11, 12, 16, 37, 38, 53 Independence ...... 96, 101 Pitch ...... 40, 45 Inflection ...... 40, 88 Pleasure ...... 96, 101 Information Giver ...... 106 Present All Possible Solutions ...... 106 Information Seeker ...... 106 Problem/solution order...... 9 Informative ...... 9, 11, 12, 16, 17, 37, 38, 53, 97 Problem-Solving Groups ...... 106 Initiator ...... 106, 108 Procedural order ...... 9, 19 Interpersonal Comm...... 88 Interview ...... 52, 60, 63 Q Intrapersonal Comm...... 88 Quotation ...... 63, 65, 76, 79 L R Lecture-forum ...... 106, 110 Literal Analogy ...... 52, 59, 64 Rate ...... 40, 44, 48 Long term memory ...... 3 Reader's Guide ...... 9, 13, 37, 38, 52, 61 Loose-leaf paper ...... 3 Receiver ...... 88 Louder/longer ...... 40 Recorder ...... 106, 108 Loyalty...... 96, 102 Reference to Occasion ...... 76 Relevant ...... 9 M Resp. High. Authority ...... 96 Respect for Yourself ...... 96, 102 Main point ...... 21, 29 Revisiting ...... 3, 7 Main points ...... 9 Revulsion ...... 96, 102 Maintenance energy ...... 106, 107 Rhetorical Question ...... 76, 79 Maintenance roles ...... 106 Round table ...... 106, 110 Manuscript delivery ...... 40, 41 Mass Communication ...... 88, 92 S Memorized delivery ...... 40, 42 Message ...... 16, 88, 89, 91 Self-centered energy ...... 106 Motivational Appeal ...... 96 Self-centered roles ...... 106 Sender ...... 88, 89 N Sexual Attraction ...... 96, 101 Spatial order ...... 9, 22 Narrowing a topic ...... 9 Special Interest Pleader ...... 106 Neutral Audience ...... 76, 96, 103 Specific Purpose 9, 14, 15, 16, 21, 26, 27, 37, 38, 41, 57, 65, Non-contributor ...... 106, 110 77, 85, 86 Nonverbal ...... 40, 42, 88, 91 Startling Statement ...... 76, 78 Statistics ...... 52, 53, 57, 64 O Subpoint ...... 29 Summarizer ...... 106, 108 On-line ...... 52, 61 Summary ...... 6, 76, 85, 86, 94 Open-ended question ...... 106 Support point ...... 29 Opinion Giver ...... 106 Sympathy & Generosity...... 96 Opinion Seeker ...... 106 Symposium ...... 106, 111 Organizational Pattern ...... 9, 37, 38, 65 Synergy ...... 106 Synthesis ...... 3
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T V T" Note-taking ...... 3 Verbal ...... 40, 42, 88, 91, 94 Task energy ...... 106, 107 Verbalized pause ...... 40 Task roles ...... 106 Vertical File ...... 52, 61 Telephone book ...... 52 Volume ...... 40 Testimony ...... 52, 53, 57, 58, 60, 64 Thesis Statement .... 9, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, W 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 34, 35, 37, 38, 41, 53, 54, 57, 65 Topical order ...... 9 Withdrawer ...... 106, 110
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